Star Wars: Walker of the Silver Mists
by Azzarain
Summary: Set in an alternate Legends timeline, this story follows the young Miraluka named Torr Advantir as he completes his instruction in the Jedi Academy under the tutelage of Luke Skywalker and other Jedi Masters. Torr's conflicted feelings about joining the Order lead him down the path of the Grey Jedi, and far from everything he imagined his life to be.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue: The Miraluka**

The Jedi Purge ordered by Emperor Palpatine didn't only affect the Jedi Order. Force Sensitives across the galaxy were eradicated, including the Miraluka. Sparse populations remained, with the survivors joining the Rebel Alliance or staying hidden. After the Battle of Endor and the Empire's defeat, these survivors began to make themselves known again.

The Miraluka are a race of near-human Force Sensitives that have no eyes, only vestigial eye sockets. They 'see' through the Force, and can detect the auras of all living creatures. Their sightlessness often causes people to assume they are helpless or vulnerable, while in reality, Miraluka can detect creatures all around them. This makes it difficult to ambush a Miraluka who is trained in the Force and for this reason, many Miraluka joined the Jedi Order. Those who didn't possess strong enough Force aptitude to become Padawans were still found among the Jedi as administrators, clerks and instructors.

 **Chapter One: Training**

Gray mists surrounded me as I knelt on the floor and allowed my consciousness to expand out of my body. I could feel my Master, Korgan, behind me. His aura was a bright gold that banished the mists around him. Through the Force I extended my sight far beyond my body, seeing myself kneeling on the ground in the meditation room. My vision passed through the walls, traveling down the Academy hallway. Padawans walked to and from classes, each having a different colored aura. Some were blue, others were yellow or tinged with gold. None shone as bright as Master Korgan.

It became more tiring to maintain as I pushed my vision out further, into the lush jungles of Yavin IV, and details became muddled and obscured. Shapes lost cohesion and simply became swirls of color, and when I could go no further, I began to bring my vision back to myself. As the trance ended, I took several steadying breaths. Master Korgan rose from his seated position to stand behind me, and laid a hand on my shoulder.

Being a Kel Dor, his hand was leathery brown and each finger was tipped with a long, sharp claw. When I first came to the Academy as a child, his hands scared me. I had nightmares of him growing angry with me and slashing me to ribbons with his claws, and removing his respirator to bite me with his grotesque mouth. As the years went by with him as my Master, I came to love and appreciate every moment I spent with him.

"Excellent work, Torr." he said, voice made robotic through the mask that allowed him to breathe in Yavin IV's atmosphere. "You have extended your mental reach far beyond your limit from last year."

I smiled from my Master's praise; it was the single greatest gift I could receive from him. I rose to my own feet, still somewhat surprised that I had grown taller than him. As a child, he had always towered over me- it frightened me at first, as he reminded me of a rancor and I feared he would transform into one during the night. When I stopped being afraid of him, his height always made me feel safe when I stood in his shadow. Now I stood several inches taller than him- indeed, I was taller than most of my peers here as I was the oldest Padawan in the Academy. It was called the Jedi Praxeum by the Masters, but most of us simply referred to it as the Academy.

"It's thanks to your flawless guidance over the past ten years, Master." I said reverently with a small bow. Korgan couldn't repress his laugh.

"Flawless? You were a little hellion when you first arrived. Some of the other Masters thought you'd never calm down. I know I was close to losing my temper with you at times."

"But you didn't, Master. My early struggles were a result of my issues, but your tutelage has shaped me into who I am today."

"For better or for worse." Korgan said, and if the Kel Dor's eyes weren't covered by a visor they would be twinkling with mischief. I smiled at him and adjusted the veil that hung over my face. Master Korgan gestured towards the door, indicating it was time to leave.

"Come, Torr, it is time for lightsaber practice. Padawans Jona and Klyx will be joining us." Korgan said, speaking of my fellow students. Jona being my closest friend in the Praxeum, a human girl who joined the Order a few years after I had arrived. Klyx is a Trandoshan, a reptilian humanoid who had a hard time getting along with the other Padawans due to his aggressive nature. I enjoy his company enough, especially as a sparring partner.

Traveling down the hallways at a brisk pace, Korgan and I picked up the other Padawans along the way. Jona was inside of her quarters, and under Korgan's watchful gaze I could only greet her with a chaste hug rather than the more intimate greeting I preferred. Jona followed behind me as I reached the sparring grounds, where Klyx was already running through an obstacle course to test his agility.

The Trandoshan leaped across chest-high obstacles, vaulted over pits and clambered over high walls. When Korgan called to him, Klyx immediately descended and jogged over to us, his breathing coming out as a low hiss. He bowed to Korgan and gave a friendly (for a Trandoshan) nod of greetings to Jona and myself. Klyx fell into line behind us as we approached the arena. A wide circle of well-tended ground, the dirt showed signs of battle damage that had been repeatedly smoothed out. A concrete shack on the far side of the arena housed the Praxeum's training lightsabers- weapons that would deliver a nasty shock, but not kill.

Korgan began handing out weapons to us according to what we had shown affinity for over the years. Jona received a single standard lightsaber, while Klyx received two. I was handed a saberstaff, a long handled weapon that emitted blades from both ends. The saberstaff was my personal favorite weapon, giving me multiple options during combat such as the ability to split it into two single-handed sabers. Like Jona, Korgan himself kept a single bladed saber. Sallying forth, we traveled out to the arena and faced each other. Korgan was staying out of this duel, promising to fight the victor.

Pacing in a circle around one another, we watched for an opening. I ignited only one end of my saber, and held it low like a spear. Jona was the first one to strike, launching a debilitating blast of Force energy at me while charging Klyx. I was shoved back, digging my heels into the ground to slow my travel. The Trandoshan leaped up over her head, attempting to strike Jona from above. Parrying his saber and thrusting out with the Force, Jona sent him flying far further than he had expected. I was ready to get into the fight, and used the Force to speed my movements as I ran at Jona

In an attempt to slow my charge, Jona lashed out with crushing blasts of telekinetic power that I countered with my own use of the Force. When I was ten meters away I leaped forward, the force of my jump kicking up a spray of dirt. Bellowing a battle cry in midair, I swung my saber, slamming into Jona's guard. She staggered back but managed to keep her footing, using the Force to anchor herself against the strength of my attack. We were locked, struggling to break the other's stance. I broke the stalemate by igniting my saber's other blade and sweeping up with it, forcing her to leap back to avoid getting hit. Throwing my hand out with my fingers outstretched, I curled them into a fist and pulled down. Jona was trapped in a prison of immense gravity, the dirt around her being flattened and compacted.

She struggled to stay on her feet, completely paralyzed by the immense pressure. Though was stronger than I was in raw Force power, she was being exhausted by having to counter my attack. Jona's eyes locked on mine as the contest of willpower swung in her favor, and she was able to make small movements towards me.

Jona was rescued by Klyx, who vaulted over her head, sabers swinging towards me. I had to release my grip on Jona to block the Trandoshan's attacks. Though unspoken, a truce was immediately formed between my two opponents. Jona joined in the assault and I was hard-pressed to defend against three lightsabers as the pair attempted to flank me. I was a whirlwind, spinning my saberstaff around to parry the other Padawans' strikes. Jona occasionally interfered with me by thrusting out with Force blasts and clouding my Sight to stealthily move to flank me, while Klyx was simply brutal with the strength of his blows.

With both of them hammering on me, I began to feel something unusual. A cold, vicious cunning put the chaos of battle into the background. My vision detached from my body, seeing Jona and Klyx's respectively blue and purple auras hammering against my silver aura. Jona was a bright beacon of the Force, and Klyx's aura almost seemed to swirl with darkness.

Using them against each other was the only way I could win. Klyx brought back his arm for a half second too long- enough time for me to use the Force to grip his blade and divert his swing- into Jona. His blade struck her squarely in the face, creating a loud crack and the smell of ozone as she crumpled to the ground. Korgan, watching the brawl from the sidelines, pulled her out of the fray with the Force.

With just Klyx in front of me, I stomped on the ground to create a shockwave of Force that pushed him back. Splitting my saberstaff into two separate blades, I threw one in a broad arc while running forward at him. He blocked my thrown blade with his stronger arm, and I thrust forward hard. His less favored arm couldn't hold my blade as I drove forward with both hands gripping my blade. Breaking through his guard, my saber rammed into Klyx's chest with such force that the explosion hurled him back, hitting the ground and tumbling away.

Though he tried to get back up, his limbs wouldn't cooperate and he collapsed to the ground. Master Korgan gently lifted him up and laid him down next to Jona, who was similarly unconscious. Giving me a moment to recover, my Master strode out on the field to face me. I Force Pulled my lightsaber back and re-assembled my saberstaff, both blades out and ready.

"Ready, Torr?" Korgan said, his golden aura glowing brighter as he prepared for the duel. I nodded, and dropped my stance lower. Immediately, my Master lunged forward, propelled forward like a rocket. His legs didn't seem to move before he was on top of me, his single saber crushing my guard and forcing me to drop a knee. I separated one of my sabers, using the Force to swing it at Korgan while both of my hands were busy holding him off me. He wrestled with me for control of the saber in midair, making our struggle both mental and physical. Korgan was pressing down on my blade with his own, inching it ever closer to my face while I fought to make the airborne saber strike him.

The feeling from before was growing. While Jona and Klyx together had been a challenge that I could overcome, Korgan's sheer might was overpowering. My body was already slightly fatigued from the exertion of fighting my fellow Padawans, and Korgan's strength was burning through the last of my stamina. While our sabers were locked and we attempted to control the airborne saber, he was also pushing down on me with the Force, making me split my attention even further.

It started as a growl in the back of my throat but grew into a roar as a surge of power rushed through me. My vision left my body again, showing Korgan burning like a sun, nearly eclipsing my silver aura. A surge of the Force bubbled forth from me, and I was barely able to control its explosion. Shoving against Korgan's saber, I was able to break the lock and rise to my feet; simultaneously, I took control of the airborne saber and slashed the back of his legs, driving Korgan to his knees. My hand thrust out, and silver lightning burst from my fingertips.

Absorbing the lightning with his hand and his saber, Korgan was able to weather the lightning barrage, and ended up turning it against me, coloring it gold as his own energy powered it. I attempted to block the energy as he had, but I couldn't contain it. As I caught more of the golden lightning in my hand, it built into a blazing incandescent sphere. My arm felt like it was vibrating as more energy was contained within my hand, and terror momentarily gripped me as I felt myself lose control.

With a deafening crack, the ball in my hand burst and a tidal wave of electricity poured forth. The bolts struck the ground, charring the dirt and puncturing clean through me, passing through my chest and searing the ground behind me. My clothing burst into flame, the loose training robes melted to my chest. The concussive force of the blast picked me up off me feet and threw me out of the arena. As I tumbled across the ground, I could feel the power draining from me. It was quickly replaced with pain. My skin felt like it was melting off my bones, and from the raw flesh of my hands and sizzling noises coming from my face and chest, I wasn't too far off.

I was laying on my side, my vision dark as the burst of Force energy had blinded me. All I could hear was my own breath in my ringing ears, and my heartbeat thudding in my chest. I felt hands grip my shoulders and knees, lifting me into the air. Even though all of the pain, I smiled because that was the longest I had ever lasted against Master Korgan. My vision went darker as unconsciousness took me into its shady embrace.

My sleep was disturbed by visions, memories from my childhood that often returned to plague me. I found myself in my childhood home on Dantooine, sneaking into my father's room while he was away at work. My mother was cooking meat pies for dinner, but I wanted to play before settling down for the night. Opening the drawer next to his bed, I pulled out a blaster pistol that was too large to hold in one hand.

Leaving the house, I told my mother I would be back in time to eat. I hid the weapon under my shirt and traveled to the settlement's spaceport, a relatively small but still busy part of town that always had a lot of empty cargo containers to play in. I was playing Rebel Commando, hunting imaginary Imperial Stormtroopers between the metal boxes. An explosion in the distance brought an end to my games. Peeking around the boxes, I could see a firefight from the settlement moving closer to me. Actual Stormtroopers were emerging from shuttles that had landed all around the settlement, firing on a speeder that was rushing towards the spaceport.

I opened the door of one of the cargo containers and hid inside. After a few minutes I heard yelling outside and the crate I was in started moving. I was lifted up, and the clanking of metal drowned out my screaming. Eventually everything became deathly quiet and extremely cold. My Sight was weak, and after my panic had subsided I was able to see just barely out of the cargo hold. I was surrounded by the void, on a cargo freighter in space. Hours passed there, shivering in the dark before the transport finally landed and I was revealed as a stowaway.

My Masters said that it was the Force working in its mysterious ways that I happened to be playing outside when the Empire rolled in to crack down on the planet. The settlement had been razed, and those who hadn't escaped on ships had been shot down. Later I understood why, as the place had been a secret Rebel supply camp. My father had been working for the Rebellion without my mother knowing, his day job of 'inventory management' was actually coordinating materials to go to the Rebel Alliance.

I had kept that blaster as a sentimental symbol. It wasn't the weapon of a Jedi, but I still practiced with it. The blaster was a low power civilian model, and I had never used it outside of the firing range but the blaster made me feel grounded. Like the ghost of my parents wouldn't truly leave me as long as I carried it.

As I floated in a vat of cool, soothing liquid, a respirator covered my mouth and nose that allowed me to breathe. My vision had also returned, and I could detect Master Luke Skywalker, Master Orsinian Dak, and Master Varro Korgan nearby. They were speaking, and out of sheer curiosity I moved my vision towards them in order to eavesdrop. Their voices were faded and distant, but I could still make out the words.

 _He used lightning, Master Skywalker. He's dangerous._

 _I disagree. I feel no dark side taint in them._

 _And none of us felt the dark side inside of Darth Sidious, either, Master Skywalker. It could be hiding itself now as it did then._

 _Darth Sidious was a trained and powerful Sith who was brought up in secrecy. Torr is young, still finding his connection to the Force._

 _And I used lighting during the fight as well, Master Dak._

 _You were channeling and reflecting the Padawan's attack, Korgan. The boy has shown troubling signs for years now, and this doesn't make me any more confident in his future._

 _His only 'troubling signs' are youthful independence. He doesn't fully embrace the Teachings, that doesn't mean he follows the dark side._

 _How are you two not concerned about this? The Padawan used techniques powered by the dark side. He was unable to control them, and nearly got himself killed._

 _You weren't in battle with him, Dak. It wasn't anger or fear that fueled his powers. I was purposely pushing him to the edge of his abilities. I could have ended the fight at any time, but I wanted to see what he would do to win. I was very impressed with the result._

 _If not anger, than what was it? What could power that manifestation of violence? Certainly not the light._

 _There is more to the Force than light and dark, Master Dak._

 _Of course, Master Skywalker. But the dark is constantly subversive._

 _It was Torr's sense of balance. He was losing; losing to a being of light. So his spirit channeled a surge of aggression and the desire to win- not necessarily evil traits- to bring balance to the fight._

 _Precisely, Master Skywalker. My Padawan couldn't fully control the rush of energy but I believe he can be trained to wield that power, call on it at will._

 _I don't know if that's a power we can teach him, Master Korgan. I know you care for him, but you know his sentiment towards joining the Order._

 _He always has been independent. While you may be right, I can't give up on my responsibility as his instructor._

 _The Padawan never stops learning, even if they are not physically with their Master. If you respect his wishes and let him go peacefully, he will learn far more than if you try and restrict him._

 _Then I propose..._

There was silence for a time, and it felt like they were actively blocking me. My perception was dark and clouded, and not even sound penetrated the gloom.

Embarrassment flushed through me as I realized they had been aware of my eavesdropping and allowed it until those last few moments. Their discussion brought up feelings of conflict that had been rolling around my mind for years. The feeling of dread when it came to joining the Jedi Order as a Knight. The reasons for my not wanting to fully join the Order were numerous, and almost entirely selfish.

I recalled a discussion I'd had with Jona last month on this very subject. We had stolen a few moments of passion while Master Korgan was offworld recruiting new prospective Jedi. We lay in my bed, speaking barely above a whisper with our hands joined. Tears were rolling down her face by the end of our conversation.

"You'd leave all this? Me?" Jona asked, her whispered voice cracking from emotion.

"The Order would never allow us to be together even if I stayed." I replied. "They know about us now, I'm sure, and are only allowing it because we're Padawans."

"But why? I just can't understand why you want to leave."

"I just can't take the mantle of a Jedi if I fundamentally disagree with them." I said, trying to sort my own thoughts on the matter out. "The Jedi Order is the mirror of the Sith Empire. One fanatically follows light while the other fanatically follows darkness. Both are blinded by their complete devotion to their own side. While the Jedi aren't as overtly destructive as the Sith, their hands aren't entirely clean either. The Jedi suppress dissenting voices and knowledge, and not always because that knowledge is inherently evil. Austere sacrifice of emotion isn't the only path to mastering darkness."

"We who use the Force feel emotion far more strongly than those who don't, and if your willpower cracks, then you can 'fall'. The dark side is insidious and corruptive, but denying the chaotic part of yourself doesn't make it go away. Order and Chaos are opposing forces, and finding Balance is my path to enlightenment. Embracing and balancing your feelings, allowing them to guide you as much as reason and logic, is how I intend to live."

Jona's hands were warm and soft as she touched my cheek, and I knew that she wasn't fully understanding my reasons. She was a Jedi through and through. The Jedi's ideals were hers, and she had been determined to become a Knight and begin the process of rebuilding the Order for years. Her naiveté was charming, but it blinded her from seeing things that she didn't understand or approve of. Perhaps Jona expected we could continue our romance without anybody else knowing; though doing so would severely compromise her morals. I might be able to live and love, but to Jona it would be an enormous potential threat.

"I love you," she murmured. "I don't want to lose you."

"You're not losing me, Jona. You have the strongest connection to the Force I have ever seen, even the Masters have said so. I may not physically be here, but I will always be with you. And that's not just a figure of speech. Call on me at any time, and I'm sure I'll be able to feel you."

"Yes, I know. But it feels like our paths are going to take us in different directions."

"They undoubtedly will. But I don't think you'll ever be rid of me."

A smile graced her lips, giving her shiny eyes an extra twinkle and making her cheeks dimple. Sniffling and wiping her eyes, she gave my lips one last kiss before standing up and pulling her clothing back on. We both knew this was the last time we would be able to have a day like this, and before she was finished pulling her robe on I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back for one final kiss.

Back in the present, my bacta tank began to drain, the translucent blue liquid disappearing down a grate on the floor.. My limbs were stiff, but I pushed myself up to my hands and knees, then sat back. I pulled off my respirator, and untangled it from my gooey shoulder-length hair. My entire body was covered with the slimy aftereffect of the bacta treatment, which made my skin prune up and exaggerated the rippled look my scars had. Where the Force Lightning had pierced me, my skin was covered in thin red scars that branched out in hundreds of thunderbolt patterns.

A door opened in the tank, allowing me to stagger out. Jona and Master Korgan were waiting with towels, wrapping me up and assisting me back to my room. On the bed, a warm stack of clean clothes were waiting for me. Pulling myself into the loose beige pants and tunic of the same color, Master Korgan spoke to me.

"I'm glad you're awake. That was a rather spectacular duel."

"Thank you, Master. I'm feeling sore, but I think everything is healed. "

"You almost looked dead when they brought you in," Jona said, "your chest was bubbling like it had been boiled."

"Too bad you were unconscious, it was a beautiful fight." I replied.

"Torr." Korgan said in a stern tone, "This is a very serious turn of events and I want you to understand the gravity of it." I nodded and bowed.

"Of course, Master. I apologize. I understand if you wish to punish me for the outburst."

Korgan shook his head, and instead walked to my study desk, where a wooden box had been placed.

"I'm not upset with you, Torr. If anything, I'm proud. You're clearly coming to the end of your training."

Opening the box, Korgan tipped it towards me to reveal its contents. Lightsaber components were laid out, disassembled. Leaving the box open, Korgan lifted it with the Force and deposited it in my hand. It was fairly heavy, with the box and padding being extra weight.

"You have much to learn about yourself, my Padawan, and it's my opinion that you won't learn everything you need in the Praxeum." Korgan said, "The other Masters and I believe it's time for you to construct your lightsaber."

"Thank you, Master." I said breathlessly as I looked over the contents of the box. Everything was there to build the weapon, except the most crucial part.

"The crystal is missing, and that will be your final task here as a Padawan." Said Korgan. "Far to the east are caves full of lightsaber crystals. That is where you shall journey to find yours. You shall travel alone, with nothing but food, water, and weapons. There is no time limit to complete this task, but if you return here without your crystal then you will have failed the test and must attempt it again when we deem you ready."

I bowed again, and closed the box's lid.

"Shall I leave in the morning?" I asked, a sense of excitement and urgency making my heart beat faster.

"Leave when you're ready. I advise traveling during the day, as the jungles of Yavin IV are host to numerous dangerous beasts."

"Such as?" I asked, wanting to know what exactly I might be facing.

"I do not know the names of all of them, but tuk'ata and shyracks lurk in the darkness. One of the scouts reported seeing signs of a nexu, but not the actual animal itself."

Fighting against wild beasts would be radically different from anything I had done before; I hadn't even left the Praxeum since I arrived, and the wilderness outside of the temple remained largely untamed. There was only one road that led to an auxiliary spaceport in case multiple ships needed to land or take off, and even that road was lightly guarded for most of the year.

Korgan stepped forward and pulled me into a tight hug, the most affection he had ever shown me. My chin rested on his shoulder and I returned the embrace, thankful for his presence. Jona had been silent for the whole exchange, and as Korgan and I separated she moved in for her hug as well. Ours was brief, not wanting to make a scene in front of Korgan. My Master gave me a short, respectful bow before exiting.

"It has been my honor to train you, Torr Advantir. May the Force be with you."

The door shut behind him as he departed, and I sat with Jona for a while discussing my journey into the wilds.

"This day came so fast." She said, and I felt the same way. When it came to leaving the Praxeum, there was no formal graduation date. You were given a task when the Masters deemed you ready to become a Knight.

"I agree. I thought they would have kept me here longer for more training after my outburst earlier." I replied.

"I felt it while I was laying on the ground," Jona said, "I was on the edge of consciousness when I felt it flare up in you, like a geyser that exploded out of the ground. All of us felt something from it. I felt joy, and Klyx was mesmerized, like watching a god descend to the ground. The other Masters all had to see what was going on, even Master Skywalker."

"I heard them talking about me while I was in the tank," I said, "Master Dak is convinced I used the dark side but Master Skywalker said I channeled something else. Not light or dark, but the manifestation of balance. Since I was fighting Korgan, a being of light, I channeled feelings of aggression to defeat him. I think that their hope is that sending me into the dark side-filled jungles, it will strengthen my light side ties to balance myself."

"They could be sending you to your death."

"That's part of why they're sending me alone. I have to be tested, and if I fail then I'll only be dead. Not something worse."

"That's a terrible thing to say."

"I'd rather be dead than return and hurt you."

Jona was quiet for a while, looking over the datapads between us with information on some of the beasts I might be encountering soon: Tuk'ata, dark side-strengthened hounds; shyracks, giant bats with mouths full of sharp teeth, and possibly a nexu- a massive feline with a grotesquely grinning maw. Any one of those creatures could kill me easily, and the shadowy nature of the jungle impeded even my Force Sight.

When nightfall came, I decided to pack in for an early night. I lay in bed with Jona, and both of us slept deeply until the morning when I woke to find her gone. She had always been incredibly stealthy, using the Force to make her movements quieter and cloud the sight and thoughts of others. She called herself a Shadow, referencing an ancient classification of Jedi agent.

Where she had been, a backpack full of food and other supplies remained. I grabbed my father's old blaster pistol and holstered it on my belt. More goodbyes would be too painful on her, so I silently left the Praxeum. Master Korgan and Master Skywalker were standing by the gate leading out, and my Master handed me a practice saberstaff.

Master Skywalker shook my hand and inspected the scars that branched up my throat and down my arms.

"I was struck by Sith Lightning," the Master said, "it was the most excruciating pain I have ever felt. I am glad you survived with mere scars. Master Korgan and Jona both held your body together with the Force following your injury. In doing so, they left parts of themselves in you, echoes of love and light that you can call on when you're swallowed by despair."

I bowed to Master Skywalker.

"Thank you, Master, for giving me the opportunities you have. I shall try my best to succeed."

"My old Master once told me, 'Do or do not. There is no try.'. Trust in yourself, trust your feelings and trust in the Force. You will return to us."

The Master handed me a blaster pistol from his belt. It was larger and heavier than the one I carried, and I attached it to my belt. Though it was just a blaster, I could feel traces and echoes of Master Luke's aura on it. The weapon had been imbued with the Force.

I said my final farewells to them and turned to leave. The jungles in front of me looked dark and shadowy, a place of despair and death. I gripped my saber tightly as I strode towards it. To bolster my resolve, I repeated and focused on a mantra Korgan had taught me to overcome my fears.

 _Fear shall not consume me. I am one with the Force, and I shall come to no harm._


	2. Chapter 2

Shadowy clouds blocked my sight within the jungle, darkening my vision as if seeing through a veil. The darkness pressed in on me on all sides as I pushed obstacles aside using the Force. Thorny branches tried to snag me, vines tried to strangle me, and all around me were sounds of lurking predators. Whatever was out there stayed hidden, choosing instead to observe or avoid me as I penetrated deeper into the woods.

My datapad showed a map that would lead me to the caves' location, but in this mire it was impossible to stay oriented. Very little sunlight passed through the canopy which made it hard to judge direction. A few hours into my expedition, I was growing tired from forcing my way through the foliage. Coming across a stream, I stopped to rest. The water was cool and refreshing as I splashed handfuls of it across my face. Not being able to see was beginning to make me nervous, as I heard sounds of violence around me. Animals attacking and killing each other, the wounded yelps of prey as they ran for their lives.

A hard knot of fear formed in my belly as I pressed onwards, trying to follow as straight a path as I could. More hours of hiking only served to get me more lost, and I called another break as I stumbled into a clearing. The ground was a smooth gray stone, scored by countless claws. The sun shone directly overhead, warming me and banishing some of the shadows that ran thick here.

There was something peculiar about this place. The stone felt solid, but I felt a great black chasm below my feet. There was intense darkness down there, perhaps in a cavern or underground structure. Whatever it was, it was reacting to my presence. While it had been a dormant energy before, it was quickly waking up.

I spent longer in the open than I should have, and realized my error when I heard the clicking of claws on stone ahead of me. My vision was so impaired that I couldn't see the creature that was approaching, but I heard its growls and the sound of its claws on the stone. I took a deep breath to suppress the fear that was rising in my chest and fought to break through the blindness that afflicted me.

As I focused, I could feel currents of the Force pushing against me, like wind-driven smoke. A voice whispered in my ear. _Do not resist. The darkness is nothing to fear. Feel the mongrel's life force and snuff it out._

The creature was hungry, and as the voice commanded I stopped trying to 'see' it, and instead I felt it. It was a hot orange coal in a sea of blackness, burning bright with life. Behind me I could sense three more creatures lurking in the underbrush. The one approaching me was trying to scare me back into the woods where it had an advantage, and its pack could attack me together. Planting my feet on the stone and igniting my saber, I stood to face the tuk'ata. I was challenging it.

The beast took the taunt, howling and leaping at me, trying to grip my throat in its jaws. I dodged to the side, swinging my saberstaff as it passed. A crack and the smell of burning fur signalled my hit, and the tuk'ata was flung aside, stunned. It hit the stone hard and rolled away, smoke rising from its side. Walking over to it, I lay my hand on the creature's bleeding head. Predatory instincts swirled within its mind, and I could see them laid out like I was looking into a pool of water.

Changing this creature's behavior was as easy as changing its priorities. I altered the creature's mind so I was no longer food to the tuk'ata, I was its pack leader. A being it would gladly sacrifice its life to protect. The hound's eyes shot open and it struggled to its feet. Though it was heavily injured, it loyally stood in front of me as the rest of its former pack sallied forth to finish the hunt.

The tuk'ata barked and yelled at each other briefly before dropping into a fighting stance; my ally refused to turn on me, and prepared to fight its former pack. The three tuk'ata I had to face now tried to encircle me, but I lashed out first. I thrust my hand out, knocking the largest tuk'ata back, slamming it into a tree. The other two leaped at me, and one was intercepted by the tuk'ata I controlled. I lashed out with my hand and silver lightning exploded from my fingertips, surrounding the hound in a crackling prison. Throwing my hand aside, the tuk'ata was slammed into a tree where it slumped to the ground, dead. Smoke rose from its scorched fur and its mouth hung open. My ally, already wounded in the fight against me, was put down by its former pack member. The pack leader had also recovered and they now advanced on me together.

I tried to use lightning again, but the hounds seemed to be ready for it this time and weathered the assault, the electricity dancing off their fur and harmlessly striking the ground. _The tuk'ata can resist the Force!_ I recalled, ceasing my barrage. I split my saberstaff into two blades and took the offensive against the predators. I charged the smaller one, striking the stone with one of my sabers to throw up a spray of gravel. When the tuk'ata flinched, I used the Force to enhance my speed and strength as I lunged, thrusting my saber into its shoulder. The creature yelped and recoiled, slumping to the ground as its leg gave out.

The pack leader swiped at me with wicked claws, ripping my saber out of my hand when i tried to parry. It pressed the attack, fixing its jaws around the crackling saber blade and wrenching it from my grasp. It pounced once again, and I wasn't able to dodge out of the way completely, one of its claws snagging my clothing and giving it leverage to pull me down. I was on my back and the tuk'ata stood over me, every ounce of my strength was being used to keep those teeth from my neck.

My hands were busy wrestling with the tuk'ata, but i lifted the blaster pistols from their holsters using the Force and repeatedly fired into the tuk'ata's belly. It roared and scrambled back, its claws now puncturing my skin as it tried to escape. I crawled back and pulled the pistols into my hands, firing on both tuk'ata as they tried to retreat back into the jungle. I struck both of the predators down, sending them sprawling across the stone.

Blood stained my robes from marks on my shoulders and side. I stood over each of the fallen tuk'ata and put a final blaster round in their skulls, not wanting them to get back up and hunt me down. I piled the bodies up and harvested a few useful materials from each- the tuk'ata claws and teeth in particular could be useful. Storing them in my pack, I decided to set up camp here for the night. I would need some time to recover from this battle, and it was surely only the first of many.

With bacta on my wounds, a tent over my head and precious time to rest, I began to meditate. I hadn't expected to find the caves on my first day, but I hoped I wouldn't have to endure this for long. The jungle filled me with a perpetual sense of anxiety, and though I had learned to see more clearly, it was far from perfect vision. It was becoming more obvious that I couldn't overpower the dark side here, I had to accept it and see as the dark creatures did in order to proceed.

 _Rest._ Whispered the voice again. Its command was powerful, and I felt fatigue wash over my already weary body. I slipped into a trance, finding myself kneeling in the center of a misty grove of dead trees. Two pale blue ghosts appeared before me, and more began to materialize in a circle around me.

 _A lost Jedi._ Said one of the ghosts in front of me. _Sent to construct your lightsaber. Your Masters have sent you to your doom._

I couldn't speak, my mouth was rooted shut.

 _They fear the potential power you wield._ Continued the ghost, _They hope the predators of the Jungle will rip you apart, as you will not bow to their Code. They have even sent an assassin after you, ensuring your demise._

Indignation flared inside of me. That simply couldn't be true. The ghost, sensing my thoughts, strode closer to me. He was a tall and handsome human, clad in battle armor and wielding a strange lightsaber- it appeared to be a saberstaff like mine, but the handle was much shorter, only long enough for one hand to grip. I could feel the dark side radiating off of him.

 _I shall show you. You know the one they sent after you._ He said, reaching his hand out to touch my forehead. The grove disappeared, and I was rushing through the jungle to where a human woman was creeping through the underbrush, seemingly unaffected their presence. The foliage simply moved out of her way, or ignored her completely. I recognized her face. It was Jona. She was dressed in the robes of a Knight, and a newly constructed lightsaber hung by her side.

 _She was secretly prepared to hunt you down and kill you if you did not swear allegiance to the Jedi Order._ The ghost said. Memories rushed, unbidden, to my mind. Jona was always secretive, and she had several 'classified' training sessions with Master Korgan. Nothing else at the Praxeum was supposed to be kept a secret, and Jona had occasionally called herself a Jedi Shadow- a Jedi who specialized in hunting down and eradicating the dark side- assassination was not outside of a Shadow's arsenal.

I couldn't stop the rush of emotions that flowed through me, intensified by the dark side surrounding me. I was hurt, I was angry, and I was afraid. Jona had been able to block my sight before; what if she was the reason I was having so much difficulty seeing in the jungle? What if she simply killed me while I was resting? She was coming ever closer to me, ready to plunge a lightsaber into my unconscious form.

It was foolishness to think that the Jedi would simply let me go. Not after striking out at Korgan like that- they were trying to separate me from the other students so that I wouldn't hurt them. There would be no avoiding it- I would have to fight Jona, and kill her if I wanted to get out alive. In our fight earlier, she must have been holding back much of her power.. The Masters would only send her after me if they were confident she could defeat me.

Raising my head to the ghost, I implored him to help me. He smiled, and bid me to rise.

 _Rest easy, young Jedi. I am Exar Kun, Sith Lord and conqueror of worlds. You stand above my library, my greatest compendium of knowledge. Sith Masters, even centuries after my demise, have recorded their knowledge here. It has sat untouched for thousands of years, but you shall be the first of a new generation of students. Now go, find me within my sanctum._

I jolted awake. The sun had set, and I was still kneeling in my tent. Hours must have passed in my stupor, and I wondered how much closer Jona had come to finding me. Time was running out, I had to find a way into Exar Kun's library and benefit from the knowledge within. Any edge I could get over the assassin coming to end my life.

As I exited the tent, the ground itself welcomed me down. It started as a thrumming below my feet that grew into a powerful shaking. The gray stone cracked and crumbled, falling apart beneath me. I yelled out in surprise as I fell, but my descent was fairly short. My legs crumpled when I hit the ground and I fell on to my back, staring up at the ceiling above. Only a small section of the stone had collapsed where I was standing, but a few loose rocks fell, striking me as I covered my head with my arms.

Groaning in pain, I pushed myself into a sitting position when the rocks had stopped falling from above. The fall hadn't been more than ten feet, and nothing felt broken. It was mostly the shock of the fall and falling debris that hurt. Standing and walking away from the worst of the debris, I examined my surroundings. My Sight was able to cut through the gloom, revealing a rather cramped room. A door nearby refused to open as I approached, and it was stuck when I tried to manually open it.

This room was deathly quiet once the clattering of debris abated; however I could hear whispering on the other side of the door. It was beckoning me to continue onwards, telling me to use the Force to proceed through the temple. Returning my attentions to the door, I noted it was made out of the same stone that constituted the walls and floor. Extending my hand to the wall, I reached out with the Force and started dragging it aside. It was a struggle, the door was old and the mechanism to open it had long since decayed away. Slowly but surely, the heavy stone slab inched aside until it was wide enough for me to squeeze through.

The hallway before me was filled with ancient dust, undisturbed for thousands of long years. Echoes of my footsteps travelled far ahead of me, violating the pristine silence that had once filled this dark place. The air was heavy and musty, making my lungs feel like they were being coated with grime. Apart from the one sealed door I had passed through, my path was undisturbed as I strode through the strange construction. The voices called me forward, guiding my path.

I was led me to a large chamber where I could finally feel the source of the dark side power. Numerous pyramids sat on pedestals around me, each one whispering to me to come nearer. It was a library of dark and profane knowledge, and once again the ghost of Exar Kun appeared in front of me. In my vision, he had towered over me but I was rather surprised now to see we were the same height.

 _Greetings, Torr. Welcome to my bastion of knowledge, where secrets from across the cosmos can be gathered, free from censure by fearful Jedi. I, and the other Lords here, can teach you Force techniques, lightsaber combat styles, and battle strategies to overcome and overwhelm any opponent- including your lover-turned-assassin._

I knelt before Exar Kun, feeling a rush of delight that I was being delivered from certain death. He bid me to rise, and I stood before him as an apprentice. The ghost led me to a red pyramid seated on a stone pedestal.

 _Take the holocron. It will begin your instruction. Hurry! We haven't much time before Jona discovers your location and ends your life!_

I nervously reached out to the holocron, my fingers hesitantly grasping it. At my touch, the holocron activated and I could feel its knowledge pressing on my mind like a river pushing on a dam. The spirit of Exar Kun suddenly seemed much more real, only a faint ethereal glow surrounding his otherwise living body. The Sith Lord smiled at me, and drew his lightsaber.

 _"Draw your weapon, apprentice. Your training begins now."_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Temptation**

I knelt for meditation in the darkness, accustomed to the gloom after long weeks of training. The cold stone walls around me felt comforting, offering secure protection from the dangers of the outside world. They were marred by battle scars, collateral damage from numerous lightsaber battles. The saberstaff attached to my belt was the weapon of a Sith, stored in the library's armory. Though thousands of years old, the red blade hadn't diminished in strength. To hone my power, I recited the Sith Code.

 _Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall set me free._

Its words sent fearful chills down my spine, leading to a chain reaction of paranoia and anger. I began to stalk the halls, making me feel less like I was the one being hunted. Exar Kun had been drawing creatures in from the jungle to test me, and the library was now full of monstrous creatures. A never-ending onslaught of enemies to push my endurance and my sanity. I could feel them all around me, their life force burning through the darkness like smoldering coals. They stalked and crept through the hallways as I did, but I would not be prey for any beast or assassin.

The nexu found me quickly, leaping out with teeth snapping and claws tearing. The feline's hideous mouth was twisted into a gleeful smile that exposed hundreds of dagger-like teeth. I thrust with my saberstaff, the crimson blade mercilessly stabbing through its throat. Using its momentum, I twisted aside and threw the nexu into the wall. Quickly stooping to harvest its teeth and claws, I prepared to create another set of traps. I had been too overzealous in my last kill, and wasn't able to scavenge enough materials to make an effective trap for this one.

I was down to my last six explosive mines, but with the teeth and claws I was able to make another two 'enhanced' bombs. I had found that they created enough shrapnel for even the toughest creatures to be mortally wounded. I finished my work just in time to sense my Master's approach. The ghost of Exar Kun materialized behind me, and I spun around with my weapon at the ready; however, the apparition wasn't here to torment me.

 _"Apprentice, you have done well. This part of your trial is coming to an end,"_ he said, _"the assassin is nearly here. I have stopped drawing in jungle predators so you may prepare for her arrival. You are growing strong in the dark side, my child, but there is yet more to learn before you are ready to meet her."_

I knelt before the ghost, but my anger was boiling over. He had been torturing me for weeks, honing my fear and paranoia to a dagger point. Corpses lined the halls, my only source of food during the entire ordeal. My own corruption was visible to me, my usual silver aura now stained bloody and black. My robes had been shredded down to a mere chest harness and loincloth, making me feel like a dark-dwelling beast. Exar Kun was my only hope of survival.

 _"Torr. I know you resent my methods, but can you not feel the power of the dark side within you? You are stronger than you ever have been, letting your sheer will to survive push you through gruelling ordeals."_

Indignant as I was, my Master was correct. I was stronger than ever, even if that power was malformed and corrupted. Even Jona, with her powers, wouldn't be able to stop me now. Exar Kun moved into a fighting stance, which I mirrored. My Master was more proficient with a lightsaber than any of the Jedi I had trained under, and I knew that my skills had been advancing under his tutelage. Taking his style and making it my own, I was combining the fierce nature of the jungle predators with the serenity that came from wielding a lightsaber. I had fashioned gloves out of the skin, claws and teeth of my prey, using them to slash and rend. A part of me was eager to use them on Jona, make her regret her decision to hunt me. I was done being pursued.

Stab, slash, parry, reposition, attack. I duelled my ethereal Master for hours, lasting longer against him than I had ever managed to before he knocked me back and defeated me. I grinned, panting through blood-soaked and broken teeth. I was making progress. My Master, too, noted it.

 _"Torr, I do feel you're finally ready to face and defeat the Jedi assassin. The time of your conflict is fast approaching, and I have decided that the time of my ascension is nigh. You and I shall rise from these ruins together, as Master and Apprentice… after I possess the body of the Jedi."_

A surge of elation ran through me. An opportunity to get off Yavin IV, apprenticed under such a mighty Lord was one that I would gladly take.

"Master, I would be honored to serve you. Will we kill the Jedi at the Praxeum? They may give us chase if they know we've escaped."

Exar Kun smiled, waves of malevolence radiating off of him.

 _"We shall slaughter them down to the last squealing child."_

A twang of remorse threatened to destabilize the shroud of paranoia that had kept me whole during my ordeal. I refused to let it take hold, stomping down on the weakness that would undo my training. Exar Kun, sensitive and perceptive as ever, detected the minute conflict.

 _"It is imperative that we remove the Jedi prior to our ascension. They would send neverending tides of enemies against us, until we are ultimately killed. We must eradicate them here."_

Bowing my head, I assented to my Master. It had to be done. The ghost nodded approvingly.

 _"Good. Now rest. You must be whole when the assassin arrives."_

I dropped into a more secure resting stance and meditated, fear and darkness honing my killing edge. I ran through as many different combat scenarios with Jona as I could, imagining every trick and power she could use on me. Every little clue she had revealed in the past, I would use against her.

She approached late in the day, with darkness covering the jungle above. Jona was nearly silent, but I could feel her light burning against the darkness. Pure and blue, more radiant than ever, she nearly burned my sight. I stayed kneeling on the ground, wallowing in squalor and death. As my former lover approached, she was obviously disgusted. When her eyes fell upon me, she stopped in her tracks.

"Torr?" came her weak voice, "Please speak to me."

"Jona," i said, my voice cracking. "You found me."

She rushed forward, arms outstretched to embrace me. As she wrapped her arms around me, I ignited one blade of my saber with the crimson blade extended towards her chest. Breaking off to the side, she dodged out of the way and immediately had her viridian saber blade out.

"Don't do this," she warned, "please don't fight. Let me help you. I can take you home."

"Do what you came to do, assassin!" I yelled, rushing forward to duel her with my single blade. I slammed into her saber, and the claws extended from my gloves. I shot them forward with telekinetic force, the claws lodging themselves in Jona's face and chest. Crying out with pain, she shoved me back with a very powerful burst of energy and ripped them out of her body. Not as effective as I'd hoped.

"I didn't come to kill you, Torr! I came to find you and help you!"

Ignoring her words, I lunged forward and felt my attack diverted by a powerful barrier she was putting up with the force. I could see it flowing around her, a bubble of protective energy. Snarling and turning my single saber into a double-bladed saberstaff, I threw my hand out to begin puncturing a hole in her defenses. Jona didn't stand by and let me attack her however, and released a blinding flash of energy that left me momentarily stunned. I regained my senses just in time to parry her attack as she rushed in to disarm me- literally.

Swinging the blade around, I launched a continuous assault to keep her on the defensive and not able to use Force powers on me. The red blade hummed and screamed as it struck the ground, the walls, and her saber. Jona's stance was hard and serious as she fended off my attack, an enormous difference from the kind and gentle, non-threatening stance I had seen on her before. Rage fuelled my attacks as I hammered on her guard, looking for the opening to end the battle and allow my Master to possess her.

Turning the tables on me, Jona fell backwards as I swung, dropping to the ground and planted her foot on my chest. She used the momentum of my swing to kick me further, rolling backwards and using the Force to propel me. I went head over heels, flung into the far wall. My lightsabers deactivated when I hit the wall and fell down, immediately crushed by a prison of intense gravity. Jona was using the technique I had used against her in our duel, but magnitudes more powerful. Both of her hands were outstretched towards me, firmly pressing down as she kept me pinned.

"I was warned about this!" she screamed at me, grief staining her words, "I was trained in secret to be the one to bring you down if you ever turned! Do you know how painful it was for me, being trained to kill the one I loved more than anything, even myself? You never noticed! You were always so smug, so convinced that you were superior because you didn't follow the Code! But you weren't superior! You fell to the dark side the moment you were exposed to the real world, and all of your rebellious 'neutrality' didn't help you!"

I could feel the stones around me fracturing and I wasn't able to breathe as Jona crushed the life out of me. I couldn't even look up, my face pressed into the ground. I was pushing back against her as hard as I could, but Jona was simply too powerful in the Force. At least, in the ways of the Jedi. One of the holocrons I had learned from detailed the ability to absorb Force energy from living victims- and Jona was a bounty.

As I harnessed the power, I felt a hunger well up inside of me that I channeled towards Jona. A bolt of black energy connected us as I leeched her power, Jona's face turning from stern to surprised as she felt her energy being drained. As she weakened, I became more powerful until I was able to stand up and force her to her knees. Jona could barely move as I siphoned more of her energy, and reached out with the Force to grip her by the throat.

When Jona was on her knees and at my mercy, I pointed the tip of my saber at her chest. She weakly struggled against my invisible grip, feeling the life being squeezed out of her body. With my victory secure, the ghost of Exar Kun appeared behind me and Jona's eyes went wide. Her eyes flicked between us and she shook her head pleadingly.

"Please." was all she could rasp. Exar Kun cackled.

 _"Foolish Jedi! My apprentice has surpassed your power, and your need for mercy. He has given your body to me as a regal gift. I can feel your connection to the Force is strong. This is good, you will serve me well. Together, Torr and I shall re-forge a mighty Empire! The days of Exar Kun shall begin anew!"_

Tears rolled across Jona's cheeks as she stared at me. Memories kicked and struggled in the back of my mind, of happy days spent with her and my friends. Of the Masters who always treated me so kindly. Of the endless patience and peace they shared. And I was betraying all of that in the worst way. I could feel Jona sharing these memories with me as her life ebbed away.

I could see Jona standing before Master Skywalker and Master Korgan. She had just finished constructing her lightsaber and received Knighthood in secret.

"We feel Torr has begun down a dangerous path. Follow him." Came the voice of Master Skywalker. "There are still dark places within these jungles that may overpower him. You must guide him towards the light at all times. And no matter what, you must never lose patience. Let him know he will always be safe here, and that he has a home among us."

Jona bowed and traveled through the jungle, searching for signs of my passing. Sometimes she would spend days in the jungle at a time before returning to the temple. She even made it to the crystal caves I had searched for, but found no trace of me. Jona's powers let her stride through the jungle unseen, never having to take a life during her travels. It was then that she felt a beacon of immense dark power, appearing as if out of nowhere.

 _He's been manipulating you._ She said into my mind. _I was never sent to kill you. He kept you hidden until he felt you were too far down the dark path to turn back, but I know you can still stop. Please, help me._

My grip on her throat slackened slightly. I knew that Exar Kun had lured me here, and I believed Jona's suggestion that Exar Kun had kept me hidden. But there was no way I could go back home. Not after falling like this, and trying to kill Jona. They would never trust me again. I had to commit. I had to protect myself now.

But the Jedi histories suggested villains far more corrupt than me had been saved. Darth Vader, butcher of billions, had saved himself. I was not so far gone that I would kill my closest friend. Lowing my hand, I released my grip on Jona and stopped draining her Force power. Igniting both sides of my saber, I whirled around to face Exar Kun. Lashing out, the spirit summoned his blade and locked with me. His face was a harsh snarl.

 _"After all I have done to protect you, you turn on me now? I will crush you into dust."_

I used the same Force draining technique on Exar Kun, his incorporeal body reacting strongly to it. The blue hue of his body began to fade and get pulled into me. His power was enormous, and I was barely tasting the surface of it. With a scream, the ghost retreated, severely weakened. I reversed the power, turning to Jona and flooding her with power. I returned everything I had taken from her, along with what I had absorbed from Exar Kun.

"Jona, help me." I implored her.

She got back to her feet, igniting her brilliant green blade as she faced down the weakened ghost of Exar Kun. Not giving me a verbal answer, she instead charged at him. I was right alongside her as I swung at my Master, forcing him to fight us both. I would weaken him with my draining powers, and Jona would assault him with lightside energies. The mighty Sith Lord was being defeated, and he knew it. Exar Kun created a ring of fire around him, forcing Jona and I to step back.

 _"You shall both die here!"_ Rang the ghost's angry cry.

The library began to shake and crumble as Exar Kun tore it apart, forcing me and Jona to flee. Cracks spread across the floor and walls, sending chunks clattering to the floor. The two of us sprinted away, charging down the halls as fast as our feet and the Force could carry us. Clasping hands, Jona and I had our weapons away as we held our free hands in front of us, projecting a protective bubble of the Force. Many corridors had already collapsed and were blocked off, but I knew the entire layout of the library and took us down a safer route towards safety.

The air became warmer and more humid as we approached the surface, eventually coming to the room I had first fallen down. Sunlight beamed through the hole in the ceiling, and we leaped up through that same opening. A plume of dust followed us as the room below fully collapsed. The stone plateau was cracked all the way across, and the center area was dipping down as the structure below caved in on itself.

Jona and I stumbled away from the site, finding relative safety on the edge of the jungle, the fresh air around me feeling warm and welcoming. Jona helped me stand up and clean off. Her hands were gentle and soothing as they passed over weeks-old wounds. Shame stuck in my throat like bile, stopping any words I might have come up with. Before we left, Jona gestured to my ruined tent that was scattered at the edge of the plateau. It had been shredded by wild beasts, but she lifted the wooden box containing my unfinished lightsaber out and pulled it over to us. She stashed it within her pouch as we departed.

Guiding us into the jungle, she seemed to know her way through the foliage as she led us to a stream with clear running water. There were no predators as we walked through the trees, Jona's presence masking our travel. It was far more peaceful than I had ever known the jungle to be.

The water ran muddy red as I scrubbed off dirt, dust and blood. My skin itself was soiled, the dark side physically staining my body. My veins ran black, and bruising covered my chest and back. After I was cleaned, I stripped off what meager clothing I still had on and tossed them aside. Going in the nude would be more dignified than wearing those filthy rags.

I felt hollow, like everything I thought i knew about the universe had been proven false. As the shadows no longer obscured my thoughts, I could see with perfect clarity what a monster I had nearly become. In my state of constant panic and paranoia, I was convinced that I had fallen beyond any hope of redemption. But now I could see how shallowly I had tasted the dark side, and how corruptible and depraved even that brief dip could be.

We continued to travel through the jungle, my hand feeling gaunt and brittle in Jona's. I was astounded by her, as she sternly strode through the jungle. She radiated stoicism and authority, but her grip on me was gentle. There was no easy topic to bring up, but I had to ask her about our conversation back in the library.

"How long have you been receiving secret training?" I asked.

"Three years." came her reply, her voice betraying her sadness. "When you first started to be vocal about your desire to not be a Jedi. The Masters knew you wouldn't suspect me if you heard rumors about secret training."

"You held so much back during our duel." I remarked.

"I couldn't tip anybody off that I had so much more training. It was deceptive, but that's a talent of mine." Her last remark sounded bitter. I had always known she was secretive and stealthy, but I never imagined she was hiding so much from me. The conversation dropped off at that point and we stayed quiet all of the way back to the Praxeum. I felt totally disgraced walking back through those doors, several people noting my return and stopping to stare. Mercifully, Master Korgan was not nearby, I could feel him with the other Masters in the main audience chamber. No doubt discussing what to do with me.

Jona escorted me to my room, and got a fresh set of clothes for me. She also laid the box she had recovered from my tent on my desk. When I got dressed, the tan robe felt too clean, too soft on my skin. I still had my Sith saberstaff, unsure of what to do with it. It still radiated dark energy, but I couldn't bring myself to destroy it. I was suddenly struck with a powerful desire to leave. To put myself far from the Jedi and the jungle and everything here. If I visited the crystal caves, as I had originally planned, I could construct my lightsaber and leave.

I felt the Masters approaching. I steeled myself for what they would say. Master Skywalker entered first, along with Masters Korgan, Katarn and Dak. I could see they all had lightsabers strapped to their belt, and I had never known them to be armed except for training situations. I was boxed in, and felt they would execute me at a single wrong move. I hadn't seen Master Kyle Katarn in years, though I certainly heard of his exploits. He had accomplished numerous nigh-legendary feats among the Jedi, and was considered the most masterful lightsaber duellist.

Instead of taking a stern, cautious stance like Korgan, Dak and Skywalker, Katarn strode over to me and laid a hand on my shoulder. He, unlike the blues and golds of the other Masters, was shock-gray like me, though his aura was brighter than mine. I could feel sympathy coming off him, genuinely comforting and reassuring.

"Torr. I'm glad to see you're safe. I can feel your shame and regret, and I know that feeling well. I have had numerous brushes with the dark side. I have fallen and come back, and I understand the impact it has on your spirit. Your path is forged as you walk it, and you have come back to us. Going to the dark side can be subtle, or it can be dramatic- but it is never permanent. You're going to be fine, Torr, and I'm proud of you."

Katarn's words shook and bit deep into me, and I couldn't help but sob. The Jedi pulled me into his shoulder and let me work out the shame I felt. I was able to get it under control, taking several deep breaths and straightening up. All I could croak out was a 'Thank you'.

"This isn't the end, Torr, it's a new beginning. As of now I am your Master." Katarn said. "But we're not staying. Your training will continue, but not here. I have need of an apprentice, and I think you and I can do the most for each other."

I nodded. Relief flooded me, as I had feared exile or some other form of punishment. Being apprenticed to Master Katarn was the highest form of forgiveness.

"Yes, Master Katarn. I- I had thought I would be exiled."

"That was my suggestion." came Dak's curt reply, but a sharp glance from Master Korgan silenced him.

"You're not lost, Torr." said Master Skywalker. "You simply need more guidance. You were exposed to the dark side for several weeks, and you require spiritual healing. Master Katarn can sympathize with what you're going through, and he can help you find peace again."

"Call me Kyle, Torr." said Master Katarn. "And there is the matter of your lightsaber. You shouldn't continue to carry the Sith weapon. Construct your own, and it will be truly yours."

Master Korgan lifted the Sith saberstaff and pulled it over to him, stashing it within his robes. It would likely be taken to a vault and sealed, or destroyed outright. The box with the unfinished lightsaber once again called to me, waiting to be filled with crystals. It offered a chance at redemption, the opportunity to prove that I was committed to not walking the dark path.

"You'll leave tomorrow." Kyle said, "Get some rest, and I'll get you in the morning."

Kyle and the other Masters left my room, leaving me feeling exhausted. I collapsed on my bed and fell into a fitful sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Silver Path**

I dreamt I was back in the Sith library, fighting with Jona. My body was huge and grotesque, possessed by the form of Exar Kun. Claws protruded from my fists, dragging across the ground and leaving smoldering ruts. I held two double-bladed sabers, hammering down her guard as she desperately tried to defend herself. Opening my mouth, I sucked her Force energy dry, leaving her a mundane shell. As she fell to her knees, I slammed my foot into her chest, knocking her to her back. Throwing both of my sabers, they rotated like circular saws as they slowly passed through her. By the end, there was nothing left.

Returning to the surface, I was taller than the trees, knocking them aside as I sprinted towards the Praxeum. Trees were knocked aside, mountains were pulverized as I continued to grow. Easily stepping over the walls, the Jedi underfoot were crushed, their life force drained to fuel me as I grew larger than the planet. The galaxy was swallowed up into the void of my body. In the end, there was nothing but my hunger.

Shaking myself awake from the nightmare, I was covered in cold sweat. It was still dark, meaning I had only been asleep for a few hours. Going back to sleep wasn't an inviting prospect, so I went for a walk to clear my thoughts. As I got out of bed, my body ached from the uncomfortable position I had been in, and the frightened thrashing my nightmare had caused. Instinctively, my path took me to the battle training arena. Striding into the weapons shack, I grasped one of the training saberstaves. Outside, I felt Jona approach.

"Get me one too, Torr."

I grabbed her a single bladed saber and went out to join her. Tossing her the weapon, we began to face off. I started with a single blade on my staff extended, and as we sparred we started with no Force powers, just testing our martial skills. Our blades danced and locked, using a combination of finesse and strength to get the upper hand on each other. At one point her leg swept out to try and knock me down, but I jumped over it, using the Force to careen over her head. With that, we began to use all of the powers in our arsenals. She was almost overpowering with the Force, her telekinetic blasts knocking me off balance for her to follow up with her saber.

One of her strikes broke through my guard, and she restrained herself from making contact with my skin, with the shimmering yellow blade hovering over my neck.

"One." She said tauntingly. I resumed my fighting stance, and launched back at her. Jona was so much stronger than the last time I had fought her, effortlessly using her saber like a rapier to twist and parry my attacks before following up with her own Force-augmented strikes that left my arms feeling sore from blocking. When we locked sabers, I tried to escape by falling back to get distance. Jona took the opportunity to hurl me back with extra Force, making me fall flat on the ground. Rushing into the opening, she stood over me with one foot on my forearm and the blade of her saber held to my throat.

"Two." I said grudgingly when she didn't, and she let me back up.

Igniting the other end of my saber, I launched into the next attack, separating my staff into two separate blades. While I had her in a saber lock with one blade, I slashed at her legs with the other. My hand was suspended in midair as she gripped my saber with the Force. Digging my heels into the ground, I heaved against her and finally broke through. I held the blade an inch away from her leg, and she fell backwards in simulated defeat.

"One." I said, a smile crossing my face.

As she stood up again, our duel resumed. I switched up the pace of the fight by re-attaching my blades into a staff and whirled into motion. The exhilaration of battle was freeing me of my worries and stress, the familiar smells and scenery making me feel genuine joy. I was so distracted by the sensations that Jona was able to get the upper hand. She halted me in my tracks by trapping me in the crushing prison that she had used on me in the library, though not nearly as painful. I was barely able to resist it and raise my saber as she swung at me, deflecting her blow.

I could feel that dark hunger rising in me again, wanting to drain Jona's energies like before. Resisting the urge to turn it on her, I instead used the power to absorb the Force energies clamping down on me. A rush of power coursed through me as I devoured the energy that Jona directed at me, fuelling my movements and attacks. Every time Jona attempted to move me with the Force, I sucked up that power and struck harder.

The duel came down to our skill with the saber as her largest advantage disappeared. Jona now attempted to get distance between us, but I wouldn't let her go. I detached my sabers again and hurled one at her, using the Force to guide it. Throwing the other one to attack her other side, I caught her in a pincer between my blades. She blocked one of the airborne blades but the other one halted just before striking her. Lowering her weapon, she laughed and said "Two."

With that, she vanished. Jona was masking her Force aura, making her completely invisible to my sight. I could hear her footsteps approaching, so I reconnected my saberstaff and threw out my hand. Lightning burst from my fingertips, striking Jona as she blocked the bolts. I could 'see' her where she was in contact with my lightning, and I hurled my saberstaff at her, the double-bladed weapon spinning around towards her. Jona used the Force to stop its spin and caught the weapon, then stomped on the ground. A tremor ran under my feet, knocking me down.

All of the electricity that Jona had saved, she now discharged through my saber, sending electricity crackling and sparking into the ground. She leaped up high, and came down with both sabers striking. Rolling out of the way, I denied her and easy victory though I was still mostly blind. Deactivating the weapons, she was once again hidden. Using both of my hands, I cast out a wide arc of lightning but struck nothing. I heard her footsteps touch down on top of the weapons shack and whirled around to face her.

Jona ignited one of her blades, the only thing I could see of her, but I felt something behind me. I dodged off to the side just as she ignited my saber behind my back, attempting to stab me from behind. Yanking on it hard, I returned my weapon to my hands and barely deflected Jona's attack as she jumped down from the higher position on top of me. She was still mostly invisible, only her weapon emanating enough Force energy for me to make out.

Suddenly feeling a grip around my throat, Jona hefted me into the air with the Force and I immediately activated my absorption power, taking in Jona's energy and falling to the ground. I had my weapon out and ready, but Jona was already behind me, ready to grapple. Her hand knocked my weapon down, while her other hand twisted my free arm behind my back and her les knocked me off balance. I was on the ground in an instant, one hand pressing my face into the dust and the other holding a blaster pistol to my spine.

"Three." Jona said, breathing hard. The duel was over. Releasing me from the pin and helping me up, Jona gave me a tight hug. I gingerly returned it, my body sore from the thrashing she had delivered. She had beaten me, but I was happy for it. Ever since we had escaped the library, it was like everything was a learning experience. Jona and the Masters had shown me how arrogant I had been before, and now reality was hitting me hard in the face. I was not the best. I was not the smartest, and I was certainly not invincible. I hoped that under Master Katarn, wisdom would force its way into my reckless skull.

"Thanks," was all I could say. "I wasn't sleeping well, and I needed to blow off some steam. I think I'm ready to try again."

Jona smiled, and kept my hand in hers.

"Lead the way." She said.

We fell back into bed together and eventually fell asleep. She was still there when I woke up, one arm under her neck and one arm draped over her waist. Giving her a small shake, Jona stirred and rolled out of bed, collecting and donning her robes before departing without a word. It was another goodbye, but now I felt more confident than ever that I would come back. I got dressed on my own and waited in my room for a while. Kyle soon came by to talk to me.

"Well, Torr, the day is upon you again. The crystal caves are about a day's trek from here if you start now. Are you ready?"

"I am. I'm sure of it."

"Good, good. Stay confident in yourself, Torr. Remember that the Force is not inherently good or evil- it's how you use it. We walk a fine line between those two worlds, Torr, but stay true to yourself."

I nodded to my Master. "I will, Kyle. I'm ready."

Kyle nodded, and clapped me on the shoulder.

"Let's get you out the door then, apprentice. Hit the ground running!"

With that, he turned and started running out the door. After a brief hesitation, I grabbed my travel pouch containing the unfinished lightsaber and followed. He was fast, dashing through the corridors of the Praxeum with me close behind. As we entered the walled courtyard, he continued to dash straight for the wall and jumped, leaping over twenty feet and clearing the wall. Instead of jumping clear over the wall, a feat I knew I couldn't accomplish, I jumped on top of the weapons shack first and used that to boost me as I leaped over the wall as well. My Master was standing and waiting for me in the clearing between us and the jungle. A nearby road led to the exterior spaceport.

Kyle handed me a blaster rifle, a much larger weapon than my pistols which were now buried in the rubble of Exar Kun's library.

"Here, take this. It's dangerous out there and a blaster pistol won't cut it most of the time. Most Jedi scoff at using blasters, but sometimes the situation calls for a slightly less elegant solution. Never turn down a possible advantage over your enemies."

Taking the blaster, I felt its weight. It was surprisingly light, and a small display showed that its power cell was full. The weapon felt old and well-used, judging by scuff marks across the barrel and grip. It even looked like a lightsaber had scored the bottom of the weapon, but the damage seemed to be purely aesthetic. I bowed to my Master.

"I'll see you soon then, Kyle. Thank you for giving me another chance."

"I've used up more chances than I can count, you've got catching up to do." He said, laughing. He pointed towards the jungle. "If you're not back in four days, we'll start looking. Make us proud."

Nodding, I set off towards the distant woodland for the second time. As I was immersed in the jungle, I wasn't choked and oppressed by the darkside presence that surrounded me. It was background noise, not a smothering blanket. I made my way quickly and quietly through the jungle, not encountering any predators though I could feel them around me. I got the feeling they feared me, as they would clear out of my path as I approached them. Perhaps they knew that I had killed hundreds of them within Exar Kun's gauntlet.

As I went deeper, I began to realize that they weren't running from me. There was something else behind me, stalking me as I rushed towards the caves. It kept a low profile, but when I turned to face it, the monster attacked. I don't know how I didn't hear it, the creature was so massive. Four large, carapaced legs each ending in a wicked spike. The beast stood at least two times my height, with a long neck supporting its head that was more mouth than anything else.

Dodging back, I avoided the creature's initial bite. I raised my blaster rifle and fired several shots, striking the green beast in the neck and head. It shrieked in pain, but wasn't stopped by my initial burst. With stealth now surrendered to combat, I tried to escape the monstrosity but it was far faster than me, even when using the Force to speed my movements. It crashed through trees and shattered boulders. I couldn't escape it on foot.

Instead of continuing to flee, I turned to face it. The creature struck out at me with its limbs, trying to impale me on its spiked legs. I jumped up after one of its ground slams, landing on its back behind its head. The creature began to buck, trying to throw me off. I held on tight and placed several blaster shots on the base of its neck, which only enraged it further as it began slamming into trees to dislodge me. The blaster rifle was knocked from my hands during its frenzy, and I was nearly crushed against the tree trunks. Shimmying up the monster's neck, I placed my hands on both sides of its thrashing head and focused on changing its thoughts. Like the tuk'ata before, I could see its bestial consciousness and it was just a matter of changing its perception. I was not food. I was Master.

With that paradigm shift, the beast stopped its rampage. I grinned as I felt the beast calm itself. Using the Force to pull my blaster rifle back up to me, I directed my new pet to continue on towards the crystal caves. It dropped into a low, stealthy stance and began to creep through the jungle with me atop its back. It made scarcely any noise as it traveled, and its green body blended in horribly well with the jungle. I was lucky to be alive.

On top of my mount, traveling through the foliage was much easier than on foot. I reached the caves with about an hour of sunlight left, and its appearance was rather anticlimactic- the mountain itself wasn't terribly large, and the cave was a mere tunnel that sloped down into the ground. My pet sniffed around the entrance to the cave and growled; Laying a hand on its head ridge, I saw into its thoughts and found it was hungry. It smelled nothing to eat inside of the cave.

 _Go hunt._ I commanded it, and jumped off its back. The creature returned to the jungle to find food, and I stepped into the dark cave. It wasn't very deep, only going down about fifty feet. I could feel the Force all around me, trapped in crystalline form. Colors surrounded me as the crystals all called out for my attention. They were reacting to my presence like mirrors, taking in my aura and reflecting back warped echoes. I was stunned by the beauty of the place. Greens and blues, purples and yellows glittered like nebulas all around me. Running my hands along the crystals, I could feel them pulsing and flashing, talking to me in their own way.

I spent hours in the cave, investigating every single growth. I knew that I only needed to take one, but choosing one voice amongst the cacophony of lights seemed impossible. I noticed, in all of the clamor, a single dark spot. One crystal I had overlooked. I approached the anomaly and found a single runty three-pronged crystal that sprouted from the ground. It was silvery and cool to the touch, and easily broke off in my hand when I pulled on it. As I held it up to my face, the crystal began to break apart and dissolve, leaving behind two gleaming white pearls.

As I held the spherical crystals in my hand, I knew I had found what I had come for. Kneeling on the ground, I retrieved the unfinished lightsaber. Levitating the weapon in front of me and disassembling it, I placed one of the spheres in each of the sabers' focusing chambers. Reassembling the weapon, I ignited the saberstaff. Two brilliant silver blades extended from the hilt, thrumming as I swung it around experimentally. When I separated the staff into two single blades, the weapons felt light and powerful in my hands, like the crystal was actively helping me. I felt utterly in tune with my weapon, like it was an extension of my aura.

I was about to leave the cave when I felt an ominous force at the entrance. Far ahead of me stood some horrible monster, a tuk'ata of such monstrous proportions that it couldn't have been natural. I felt such powerful darkness emanating from it, I realized that I recognized the presence as Exar Kun. The Sith ghost had possessed the tuk'ata that was now facing me down. The animal growled and roared, barking out a series of harsh commands. Other tuk'ata began charging down the tunnel towards me, under the baleful gaze of Exar Kun. My lightsaber tasted battle immediately as the hounds swarmed towards me. The first two leaped at me and I beheaded them in midair. Another one lunged at me while his packmates tried to flank me, but I let out a telekinetic burst that flung all three of them back, impaling them on the crystals that surrounded us. Their wounded yelps echoed as I began to charge up towards the packmaster.

Reconnecting my saberstaff, I spun around in a vicious twirls as I worked my way back up towards the surface. More beasts started to pour in as I advanced on Exar Kun. Not just tuk'ata, but all of the dark creatures of the jungle seemed to follow the Sith Lord's command. Shyracks flew in, circular mouths full of needle-sharp teeth. I hacked their wings off and stomped on their fragile chests. Nexu slithered in, but I grasped their long whip-like tails with the Force and hurled them into the crystals, impaling them as I had the tuk'ata.

As I drew closer to Exar Kun himself, he began to snarl and prepare to attack. I had broken the last of his minions when a large green mouth descended and gripped Exar Kun, lifting him off the ground. My pet had returned, hearing the sounds of battle. Shaking the giant tuk'ata around, Exar Kun freed himself by raking his claws across my ally's face. Blood dripped from deep gashes across its eyes, and my pet stumbled backwards. Exar Kun went in for the killing blow, but I dragged him closer to me with the Force. Those hateful eyes turned back at me and I prepared to meet him. I tried to hold him still with the Force, but he shrugged it off. Exar Kun was using his own Force powers to augment the tuk'ata's natural Force resistance.

Roaring, he lunged at me and I slashed at him with one end of my lightsaber. Exar Kun's teeth gripped my blade and attempted to wrench it from my grasp, but I turned off that blade and swung around to strike with the other half. He dodged back, and we stared each other down for a few moments. Attempting to goad him into a headlong attack, I spoke.

"You've failed, Kun. Your legacy has crumbled. You now inhabit a beast. The galaxy will forget your name, and everything you cherished will crumble to dust"

Exar Kun fell for the taunt and rushed me, teeth snapping and claws swiping. Drawing my blaster rifle with my free hand, I fired several shots straight down the tuk'ata's gullet. Smoke and blood exploded out of Exar Kun's mouth as he stumbled back. The bear-sized hound was coughing, trying to catch his breath when I charged in with my saberstaff and slashed twice- once horizontally, nearly slicing the beast in half, and once vertically. The corpse of the beast slumped back, and I could feel Exar Kun's presence escaping from it.

Thrusting my saber into the ghost's misty blue body, I unleashed my hunger for the Force and drained the Sith Lord's remaining Force energy. It flowed into my body through my saber, energizing both me and my crystals. When the essence of the Sith Lord was totally gone, I finally let out a sigh of relief. There was no trace of his presence left, his incorporeal body drained and his willpower broken. He would never rejoin the Force, and his dark stain was banished.

Turning my attention to my wounded pet, I drew close to ease its pain. The slash across its face had blinded it, and I ran my hands over its face to seal the gashes. The animal's panic subsided and I helped it get to its feet. Guiding it to the cave, I acted as my pet's eyes as we crawled down into the cave to rest. The massive creature could barely fit without being stabbed by the crystals within the cavern.

Inspecting my saber, I made sure that its first battle hadn't left any damage. Other than blood and scorched fur, there was nothing wrong with it from what I could see. The crystals continued to radiate their silver aura, which matched so well with mine it felt like they were a missing part of my spirit that had finally been reunited with the rest of me. Already, I couldn't bear the thought of being separated from them.

I rested against my companion's belly as we both drifted off to sleep. It had been a long day of travel, and the battle had been particularly taxing. Absorbing Exar Kun had given me a brief rush of energy, but that had been drained when I healed my pet's wounds. I decided that the creature needed a name, and I certainly wanted to keep it.

"Torak. That was my father's name." I said, and Torak let out content chirping. Drifting off to sleep, I didn't wake up until well into noon the next day. Sunlight filtered through the cave mouth, muffled by the tree cover but still warm on me and my companion. Torak stirred awake at the same time I did, and I led him out by keeping my hand on its neck as we both walked forward.

I shared my sight with my mount as we began our journey back towards the Praxeum. It was a relatively uneventful trip back, as Exar Kun had called many of the local predators to the slaughter- and Torak still scared those who remained away. Since we started late in the day, nightfall came before we reached home. I allowed Torak to hunt for a few hours before walking the rest of the way home. As we emerged from the tree cover, I activated my comlink and contacted my Master.

"Kyle, I'm back. And I brought a friend."

He emerged from the Praxeum, and was visibly startled as I strode towards the entrance of the Academy. His hand drifted towards his lightsaber, but he didn't draw the weapon.

"Torr, you're riding an _acklay?_ Sithspit, you're going to be a handful of an apprentice."

I smiled, now having a name for Torak's species. Sliding from my pet's back, I commanded the creature to stay put. Without me sharing my vision with him, Torak let out nervous whining.

I held my saberstaff in front of Kyle, and activated it. Two silver blades leaped out , illuminating us with a white glow. He nodded in approval.

"Very nice work, Torr. You're as properly armed as a Jedi should be. Now come on inside, and let's get some rest. Tomorrow we're going to Coruscant."

Following Kyle inside, I bade Torak to wait outside of the Praxeum for me.

"Are you going to want to take him with us?" Kyle asked, obviously worried about my answer.

"Of course, Master. He's blind, he needs me to see." I said.

"Mmm. Well, as long as he doesn't eat anybody, I can arrange to have him transported as well. Though I'm not sure how a ten-foot crustaceous carnivore will fit in where we're going."

"He's very well behaved, and can make himself fit into surprisingly small places."

"That's reassuring. And terrifying."

Back in my chambers, I was joined by Jona. She didn't spend the night, but we spent hours talking.

"I can feel how much better you're already doing." She said as she was preparing to leave.

"I'm not better." I confessed. "I'm still ashamed of myself, and afraid it could happen again. But training under Master- uh, Kyle- should help me. I hope to see you out in the galaxy."

"I'm sure I'll see you again. You might not see me, though." She said jokingly, but I knew she meant it. With her ability to hide from my sight, she could observe me and I would never know. As she stood to leave, we shared a final hug before she departed. I fell back into my bed to rest. When morning light came, I heard a shuttle pass overhead. It was an uncommon sound, usually only once a month when we received a shipment of supplies or a new recruit. That had to be the shuttle that would take me and Kyle to Coruscant.

Journeying outside, there was no fanfare. I waved goodbye to the other Jedi that I passed on my way out, and joined Kyle and Torak as we set off down the road to the spaceport. My Master and I both rode astride the acklay's back, jumping down to board the shuttle when we arrived. A cargo container on the underside of the transport housed Torak, environmentally shielded so he wouldn't perish in space. Kyle and I sat in the transport, strapping ourselves in and preparing for transit.

"We're going to have to teach you how to fly a starfighter." Kyle said, "We can't always rely on shuttles. It'll give us autonomy."

I nodded, though I was unsure. Force Sight on the ground was simple. In space, there was a lot more going on.

"This is your first time off-world, right?" Kyle asked, and I nodded.

"I haven't left the Praxeum in ten years."

"Well, you'll be in for a shock. There will be more people than you'll ever have thought existed around you, and not all of them are going to be friendly. Just keep your cool and stay near me."

The shuttle rumbled and began to lift off. I could feel Torak below us getting restless. Reaching out, I calmed his mind and encouraged him to sleep. There was a long flight ahead of us, and having a cranky acklay wouldn't be good for anybody. We ascended into the atmosphere, and I felt a weightless sensation in my stomach as we left the planet's atmosphere and crossed into open space. We continued to fly until we reached the edge of the planet's gravity well, then jumped into hyperspace. After a jolt, the shuttle lay perfectly still.

I could feel more than I ever expected to. We were passing through the stars at incredible speed, but the Force was still flowing all around us. While we had time, I relaxed in my seat to meditate. My lightsaber floated gently around me while I focused on stretching my sight through hyperspace. Coruscant hovered on the edge of my perception, a beacon of intense power. Life swarmed and flourished there, shining like a bright beacon of the Force. Billions of life-forms called the planet home. There was also a great deal of fear and anger. The planet was far from peaceful.

"I sense.. Conflict ahead." I said to Kyle, after a few hours into our journey.

"Coruscant is still a battleground in some places." Kyle said, "The Republic took back Coruscant from the Empire years ago, but there are still Imperial Remnant holdouts all across the planet. Pirates and other scum have taken advantage of the chaos and embedded themselves, scavenging and attacking both sides."

"I had no idea things were so bad."

"That's why I want to get you out of the Academy. You're the oldest, and of an age where you can be trusted with missions. The galaxy needs the Jedi to come back, and in the next few years your classmates will be joining us."

Towards the end of our trip, we approached a large space station in orbit of Coruscant. It ran regular shuttle trips to and from the station, and we pulled in to dock. There was a several hour delay on board the station while I was issued a Republic ID, and was introduced to the concept of money.

"Credits make the galaxy spin, Torr. While we're out here, we'll have to pay for some supplies. Many places will aid us as Jedi, but sometimes you need to flash a bribe."

I held up a hand. "We can affect minds, why not just persuade them to give us what we need?"

Kyle gave me a stern look. "The Force is not to be used in that way. If you can convince them, use your words and your wits, do not forcibly change their opinion."

"I understand, greed is an easy trap to fall into. How can we earn credits, then?"

Kyle handed me a datapad with a list of faces, and a credit amount next to them. Tapping on each face, it brought up a list of crimes, known associates and last known locations. I gave Kyle a quizzical look. He answered with a sly smile.

"Torr, you and I are about to become Bounty Hunters."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Targets of Opportunity**

"Bounty Hunters? You want me to kill people for money?" I asked incredulously.

"You don't have to kill the target, Torr. We're not assassins. In fact, the Republic prefers these people be brought in alive to stand trial. The people we go after are Imperial officers, pirate bosses, terrorists and generally pretty bad people."

I looked over the list. Most of them were wanted for murder, war crimes, terrorism and other atrocities. Some of the highest valued targets were members of the Imperial Remnant still at large and suspected to be operating around Coruscant. Kyle pointed out some names lower on the list.

"We'll start towards the bottom. Less protected marks will be a good entry point for us. Get you familiar with urban life, and I can teach you how to fly speeders and starships here."

I still felt somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of bounty hunting. Kyle was perceptive of this, and continued to try and convince me.

"Look, there are certain skills you need to pick up out here. Bounty hunting will give us the opportunity to investigate, track and pursue targets. The money we earn will put food on the table, power cells in our blasters and the rest we can give back to the Praxeum to help them grow."

When phrased like that, I saw how bounty hunting would benefit both me and the Jedi as a whole. I bowed to Kyle, still slightly reluctant. He jovially patted my shoulder, happy to have won me over. We returned to the shuttle for transit planetside, descending through the planet's atmosphere and touching down on one of the large landing pads that dotted the planetwide cityscape.

The sheer volume of Force input here was almost overwhelming my senses. Billions upon billions of people, all around me. The sensation and emotions that surrounded us was almost blinding. After a few minutes of getting my bearings, I began to see through the glare. Everything was bright and ghostly, brilliantly illuminated.

We disembarked and I let Torak out as well, the acklay striding out and stretching his cramped limbs. A few of the Coruscant Security Force officers who had been approaching us now shied back in concern. When Kyle and I hopped up on the acklay's back and approached them, they nervously kept a safe distance from Torak's teeth and spiked limbs.

"I am Jedi Master Kyle Katarn, this is my student Torr Advantir and his companion Torak the Acklay. We are expected by Commander Trayk." Kyle called out to them after the din of our shuttle departing had faded.

One of the CSF officers spoke with his superior officer on his comlink, then quickly waved us onward. I urged Torak to carry us forward, towards the processing center. He wouldn't fit inside, so I had him wait outside while we arranged the details of our stay. After being processed by Coruscant officials, we were confirmed to be Jedi and allowed access deeper into the facility. We were led through the building, which extended beyond the range of my sight far below. The whole planet was one enormous city, as I was coming to understand.

Commander Trayk was a teal-skinned Twi'lek woman who stood a little taller than me. Tattoos covered her face and wrapped around her lekku, the tentacles that grew from her head. She was dressed in a smart tan and gray outfit, giving orders to her subordinates over the comlink and handing datapads to couriers. Despite being enormously busy, she was polite to me and Kyle when we requested some of her time. Giving a short and respectful bow, she addressed us first.

"Good day, Master Jedi. We're very glad to see you here. I understand you brought a pet acklay."

Kyle nodded and gestured to me.

"His name is Torak, he belongs to my apprentice. He won't be a problem unless someone provokes him."

"I don't think any of my officers are that stupid, luckily. Let's get down to business."

Kyle nodded, and we sat around her table which was stacked high with documents.

"We're in a tight spot here." Trayk confessed. "We've got more enemies than soldiers, and even with Republic military support it's been difficult to dislodge the enemy from entrenched fortifications. Pirate Cartels and the Imperial Remnant are keeping us busy and we just can't seem to break them. They own many industrial zones, and while they aren't actively building anything, it's stopping us from fully rebuilding and mobilizing a proper army."

Pulling out a map of one of the aforementioned industrial zones, Trayk pointed out several factories that had been inactive for years. Each one was rated based on their estimated threat level, with "High" to "Extreme", indicating moderate to heavy enemy concentrations. Kyle looked them all over and pointed out the firearms factory controlled by a pirate gang. It was the lowest-threat among all of the others, and was fairly close to our current position.

"We'll start there. Torr and I will infiltrate the factory and rough them up, get them primed for you to send in backup and capture the facility. There are a few things we need for you to do in return, Commander."

Trayk nodded, and Kyle continued. "My apprentice and I came here with very few resources. The Jedi are still rebuilding, and we have just two lightsabers and a blaster rifle between us. We need credits and equipment."

"I can arrange that." Trayk said, with a small smile. "What kind of equipment?"  
"Another E-11 blaster rifle, a dozen thermal detonators, and two personal shield generators."

Trayk fished a specific datapad out of the massive pile in front of her and was already putting in the requisition. I was somewhat surprised it had been that easy- I had expected more resistance to the idea of paying a Jedi. In my studies of our history, we hadn't traditionally asked for rewards. Though perhaps that part just wasn't mentioned. We couldn't entirely rely on handouts, and it seemed Trayk had the money and weapons to spare.

"You'll have your gear by the time you leave here. It shall be delivered to a shuttle I've arranged for you two to use. It's fast, quiet and will get you to where you need to go."  
Kyle and I stood, hearing our dismissal. We gave a short bow in farewell.

"Thank you, Commander. I'll let you know when we begin our assault of the base. Give us some time, then send in your troops."

We turned and left the Commander's office, and were led back up to our landing pad. I rejoined Torak and waited for our shuttle to arrive. After about an hour it touched down, complete with the weaponry Kyle had requested. Torak fit snugly into the shuttle behind us, and Kyle sat at the controls to pilot it. We lifted off, heading straight for our objective.

"What's the plan, Kyle?" I asked.

"I'm going to drop you and Torak off nearby the factory and you two will make your way in and assault the front. Make as much noise as you can, create a distraction. I'll put the shuttle down nearby and sneak in while you draw their attention forward."

I did not like that plan.

"Kyle, I can't just assault the front door of a heavily defended facility!"

My Master glanced back and chuckled.

"Relax, I'm joking. Do you think Torak will follow my commands?"

' "If I tell him to." I said.

"Good. I'll drop you off around back and then circle around to hit the front with him. You infiltrate the facility, capture their leader and then help me deal with the welcoming party."

I nodded, far more confident in my ability perform that task. We circled around my drop point, already being shot at by small arms fire from below. Passing behind one of the factory's smokestacks, I jumped out of the shuttle and fell ten feet to the balcony. Kyle sped off, leaving me behind and drawing fire.

I landed nearby a door to the interior of the factory and stepped inside. Sensing dozens of pirates nearby, I kept a low profile as I felt my way around the upper level. They were all converging on the main entrance to the factory, away from me. There were a few pirates on my level who weren't moving and seemed to be in a control room. I set off towards them first.

I kept my saberstaff in hand but not active as I approached my targets. I was in the upper scaffolding of the factory and had to drop down ten feet to reach the control room. When I hit the ground, nobody inside gave any indication they heard me but there was still a door between us. When that opened, they were sure to be alerted. With the Force, I could hear what they were saying on the other side.

"Looks like we're under attack by a single Jedi and an acklay. Get the snipers on the roof and heavy weapons to take out the acklay. What's he doing?"

"He's trying to secure the bridge. Probably the first phase of a Republic invasion."

"I don't know, this seems off-"

I didn't give them a chance to continue conversation, as I flung open the door and thrust

my hand out, knocking the three pirates to the ground. Balling my hand into a fist, I pulled their blasters towards me, leaving them disarmed. Igniting my saber, I advanced on them and gave them orders.

"All of you, stay on the ground and do not move your hands."  
Stooping down over each of them, I secured their wrists with handcuffs. The pirates were grumbling the whole time, but didn't dispute me while I held a lightsaber. When they were locked up, I finished them off by knocking their heads against the wall. Each of them fell unconscious and I rushed to help Kyle and Torak. I had to stop the snipers and heavy weapons before they were able to set up.

Leaving the command center, I leaped back up onto the scaffolding and followed it to he external access doors. Flinging them open, I saw a dozen pirates lining up across the roof with long rifles and rocket launchers. Far below, my Master and my pet had crossed the bridge and were now fighting at the doors to the factory. Torak had bits of pirate stuck to him, and was covered in blaster scorch marks.

In front of me, a Rodian holding a rocket launcher was preparing to fire at him. I used the Force to hold the warhead inside of the weapon, causing it to explode in his hands. The blast killed him and knocked the pirates on either side of him down. I followed up with my lightsaber flashing, finishing the downed pirates. Flinging my hand aside, I launched two more pirates over the waist-high railing and sent them tumbling down. The others were aware of my presence, turning their weapons towards me. Charging them with a single blade active, I held it up in a defensive posture.

One of the snipers fired a round at me, and I knocked it aside. Thrusting my hand out, I grabbed him by the neck with the Force and tossed him over the edge. The next pirate, bearing a rocket launcher, tried to fire it at me but I held the warhead within the chamber and it exploded, killing the wielder and the pirate behind him. They didn't learn quickly.

There were four pirates left up top, now breaking to try and surround me. Two of them had dropped their heavier weapons to heft blaster carbines, and two were brandishing swords at me. Judging by the humming noise they made, they were vibroblades and could resist my lightsaber.

The sword wielders charged, and though they had melee weapons, they didn't have the Force. Thrusting my hand out, lightning sprung from my fingertips, stunning the pirates in their tracks as they screamed in pain. The pirates behind them began shooting, and I used my saber to deflect their shots.

Splitting my saberstaff into two blades, I hurled one at the electrocuted pirates and used the other to continue deflecting blaster shots. The thrown saber arced like a boomerang, cutting down the still twitching pirates before returning to my hand. The pirates who were shooting at me lost their nerve and fled, screaming. I wanted to hunt them down and kill them, but resisted that dark urge. Kyle and Torak were still fighting and needed help.

Before I could reach them, I heard the sound of a large shuttle approaching. A Republic troop transport was setting down on the far side of the bridge, and CSF soldiers were streaming out, helping Kyle by firing on the pirates. My Master jumped up on Torak's back and gave him a command. Immediately the acklay began to scale the side of the factory, climbing straight up towards the first exterior balcony. The pirate above, under heavy fire and faced with a Jedi riding an acklay, panicked and fled.

My comlink beeped, and I pulled the handheld communicator from my belt. It was Kyle.

"Torr, I see you saved us from those heavy guns! Good work. Now secure the pirate leaders and help us clear the interior of the base!"

"You got it, Kyle. See you soon."

Reconnecting my sabers into a staff, I returned to the interior of the factory where CSF troops were breaching and beginning to sweep the area. I felt a strange presence as I entered the factory, and had a brief moment to ignite my saber and whirl around. A dark figure had landed on the balcony behind me and was now charging with his saber out. Meeting his blade, I was shoved back by his strong Force push.

Retaliating with a push of my own, the assassin weathered the attack but my follow-up lightsaber attacks put him on the defensive, and I was gaining ground. Using my saberstaff aggressively, he was inching closer towards the outside balcony. I felt his balance tip and slammed him hard, pushing out with the Force simultaneously. He was shoved back, slamming into the doorframe and being put off-balance.

The figure retaliated swiftly, throwing his hand out and catching me in a barrage of lightning. Pain, more intense than anything I had ever felt, made my mind go blank and a terrible scream was ripped out of my throat. I dropped to my knees, smoke pouring off my body as my skin melted and clothes burned. My lightsaber deactivated and rolled away as I lay in a crumpled heap, being quickly tortured to death.

The figure was advancing on me with his saber out. I could barely detect him above the overriding agony. As he drew nearer, I felt the hunger. It roared to life, ravenous and consuming. With my screams of pain turning into a roar of rage, I leaped to my feet as I drank in the Force energies he was turning against me. A black cord connected us as I forced him to his knees with a powerful push. The figure was cloaked and hooded, but I felt his sudden fear radiating off him. Pulling my saber into my hand, I chopped off the arm that had been electrocuting me.

Sparks still crackled across my body and I continued to smolder as I advanced on him, planting my hands on the side of his head, ripping away the mask that covered his face. It was an older man, light skinned and wrinkled, his expression dazed but still afraid. His mouth constantly moved in a silent "no, no, no, no". His energy continued to flow into me, revitalizing my tortured body and energizing my spirit. The effect was aging him, causing his skin to turn a pale yellow and the wrinkles to deepen. When he was totally drained, he collapsed to the side, an empty husk.

I stripped off my robes, having to peel it off in some places as my raw skin was sticking to the fabric. My wounds would have been worse, but draining my opponent had healed me somewhat. During my duel up here, the battle below seemed to be wrapping up. Most of the pirates were routed or dead, and the leaders were still unconscious and subdued in the control room. My comlink was completely fried by the Force lightning, so I was unable to reach Kyle. I could feel him below, making his way up to me.

My Master leaped up, having ignored the stairs and simply jumped up through the factory's many obstacles to reach me. Rushing to my side, he examined my wounds and channeled healing energy into me.

"Torr! Oh, I'm glad you're alive. I didn't detect that anything was wrong until he let out that lightning."

I tore off scraps of black, charred cloth and dropped them on the ground. A quiet, bubbling anger threatened to make me snap at Kyle, but I held it back. I knew he couldn't have gotten here in time to protect me from the assassin, and even I couldn't see him coming until he was on top of me. Still, there was that part of me that lost some faith in Kyle and told me to be more independent.

"I'm alright, Kyle. Though I did use the dark side to win."

"Don't worry about that, Torr. Like I told you in the Praxeum- the Force is not good or evil, it's how you use it. You used the dark side to protect yourself, and as long as you don't lose yourself in it then you are no more evil than you were before."

I stooped to examine the corpse. He had no obvious markings or identification on his body, though his lightsaber was weathered and well-used. Symbols were carved on the hilt that I didn't recognize. I handed the weapon to Kyle, who looked it over.

"Hmm. I don't recognize these markings, but they might not mean anything. I don't know what this dark Jedi was doing here, but he might not be alone. We should stick together for the time being, I don't want us split up in case another one comes."

I nodded. The memory of the pain that this one foe inflicted on me made my stomach turn. My skin felt hot and cracked, making every movement sting. Moving the conversation back to our task here, I gestured towards the captured pirates which were now being hauled away by CSF officers.

"Did I do alright on our first mission?" I asked.

Kyle gave a short laugh. "More than alright, Torr! We took the factory without a single casualty. It might not seem like much, taking this one building, but it's a solid step towards fully liberating Coruscant."

My Master knelt down on the ground and motioned for me to join him. We started to meditate and I heard his voice within my own mind.

" _The Force echoes with every action you perform. With every act of kindness or cruelty, the effects ripple out far further than you can imagine. Seemingly insignificant events can have far-reaching effects. Consider every possible outcome before making an action. You have affected many lives today, though you haven't met most of them face-to-face. Wisdom is the ability to evaluate and predict outcomes of events before they happen. The Force touches every living thing, be aware of how you affect it."_

When we rose from our meditation, my emotions had calmed. Merely being nearby Kyle was comforting, though I found myself missing Jona and Master Korgan. If I focused, I could still feel them through the Force, but very faintly. Being able to feel Jona was somewhat reassuring, as I knew that she wasn't invisibly stalking me.

Kyle's comlink beeped, and while he answered it I pulled out my datapad to check the status of the bounties. Commander Trayk's voice came through Kyle's communicator.

"Greetings, Master Jedi. I'm hearing back from my Sergeants that the operation was a complete success and the factory is ours again. We also captured a dozen of them alive, including the three ringleaders of this region. I'll have a thousand credits wired to you, Master Katarn. I hope this is the start of a long partnership."

"I'm sure it will be, Commander. We ran into a dark Jedi, do you know anything about him?" Kyle asked.

"The Imperial Remnant still has a few dark Jedi in their ranks, and I have received reports of dark Jedi attacks sporadically across that sector. I'm not sure if it was a lone agent you killed, or a member of an organization." Trayk answered.

"Keep us up on what you find. I'm taking my apprentice to the old Jedi Temple."

"Understood. May the Force be with you."

Kyle stashed his communicator on his belt and gestured forme to follow him.

"Come on, Torr. We're heading back to the shuttle"

As we were leaving, Kyle handed me the assassin's lightsaber. I stashed it on my belt in case we found some way to translate its markings. I met up with Torak outside, and he was very happy to see me again. His exterior was covered with blast marks, but he didn't seem to be in much pain. The three of us returned to the shuttle, and traveled halfway across Coruscant to reach the ancient Jedi Temple.

The building was old and dilapidated, in just a few decades it had fallen from what must have been glorious splendor. I felt a lot of history here- and a lot of death. As Kyle and I approached the crumbling entrance, I could feel the ghosts of thousands of Jedi. Many had died on these grounds, some in battle and some naturally.

"I wanted you to see this place while we're on Coruscant," Kyle said, "it's an important building to the Jedi. It's been destroyed and rebuilt, lost and won many times over our Order's history."

I stooped to pick up a loose stone that had once been a part of the massive building. Even this piece of rock thrummed with the Force. Everything here did, glowing perpetually with residual energy. I noted signs of battle that had never been repaired all around- pockmarks in the stone where a blaster bolt had struck, and in some places, lightsaber scoring. I of course knew about the chilling final days in the Temple, when the Jedi Purge laid low the Order.

"We'll rebuild this place, eventually." Kyle said. It won't be easy. It will take millions of credits and many years to see this Temple restored, but I wanted you to see it now. Never forget that no matter how low you fall, you are never lost. Hope is never lost."

We explored the exterior of the Temple and ventured inside. The Force was even stronger in here, and I could hear faint whispers, memories preserved in the Force. The voices weren't audible, hundreds of overlapping conversations running over each other. It was a melancholy place, and I wondered if it was worth rebuilding again with so much history already present.

"Luke wants to move us here when there are more Jedi. You're the first of his new generation of students to see it. I get the feeling you'll be here when the final stone is laid and the doors open again for students."

We spent a few more hours exploring the time-worn structure before heading to our apartment. Taking the time to explore the quiet ruins of the Old Jedi Temple was the perfect way to calm my spirit after the battle at the factory. We were provided with housing courtesy of the CSF, a home base between assignments. Coruscant was such a massive city, it almost seemed impossible to me to decide what to do next. Kyle and I took a break from our more interesting duties to attend to mundane tasks: how each day would be scheduled.

Pilot training was high on Kyle's priority list, along with lightsaber and Force practice. Continuing to study history and modern politics was also very important to him. Finally, we would only take a new bounty assignment when we were low on credits. With all of the conflict on Coruscant, I asked Kyle why we weren't more committed to helping the CSF reclaim the planet.

"We're not here as soldiers, Torr." He said. "We're here to further your training. A job every twenty or thirty days should cover our expenses and give you a chance to test yourself. I'm more concerned with sifting through the dark Force techniques you learned in Exar Kun's library. I'm sure there's more than the Force absorption technique you've been using. I'm not telling you not to use your abilities, but I at least want to know about them so I can counsel you on their use."

I nodded, and sighed. Though I yearned for more action, I knew that I had to continue my training in self-control. Being cooped up in my area seemed stifling, but my life was already far busier and more exciting than when I had been in the Academy. There was no doubt in my mind that greater things, for good or evil, were in store for me.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six - Shadow of the Empire**

I was meditating in my room, a jedi holocron unfurled in front of me, telling tales of the Clone Wars and the exploits of the Jedi during that time. Kyle and I had found it during an expedition into the Jedi Temple, and it had been miraculously undiscovered by looters and Imperial forces. Kyle had said that the strong light side presence there helped mask it until true Jedi returned.

My peace was disturbed by extreme turbulence in the Force. A dreadful tremor echoed across the planet, virtually shaking me in my meditative state. Snapping out of my trance, I called out to my Master. He was already heading towards me, with a sense of urgency about him.

"Master, I feel a heavy disturbance."

"I feel it too. Get your things together and meet me at the speeder. I get the feeling we're going to be called on soon."

Rushing to gather my gear, I grabbed my lightsaber and the dark Jedi's lightsaber, stashing both on my belt. Donning a metal mask that I had purchased last month, I also grabbed a personal shield generator and E-11 blaster rifle. Ushering Torak into the shuttle, we were already in the air when Commander Trayk contacted Kyle.

"Master Jedi, there's a situation. We need you immediately."

"We're already on our way, Commander. Be there soon."

"Understood. Hope you've been keeping up on starfighter training."

The flight to the CSF office was difficult, as there were many speeders in the air, chaotically breaking out of their established flight paths. Kyle swerved aside from multiple near collisions, and I fought to keep Torak calm as we were jostled around in the cramped shuttle. We touched down on the CSF landing pad and shuffled out. As soon as we had disembarked, an officer boarded our shuttle and took it away.

"Guess they don't want us leaving yet." Kyle remarked.

We entered the building, with Torak again waiting outside. As we were led to Trayk, the building was alive with commotion. We soon found out why when we were put into a room where the Commnder was delivering a briefing.

"...two Star Destroyers, an Imperial-class and Victory-II class in orbit. They are deploying fighters and are accompanied by smaller corvettes and gunships. They are not here to destroy our facilities, but to cover the mass evacuation of Remnant forces scattered across Coruscant. Shuttles and transports have been spotted travelling between Remnant-held facilities and the Star Destroyers. Our mission is simple: Destroy both ships. Ah, the Jedi are here. Master Jedi, please come forward and offer your insight."

Kyle and I, abruptly put on in the spotlight, traveled to the front of the room to stand next to Trayk. Kyle gestured to the holographic display of the two Imperial capital ships. They were surrounded by smaller ships in a defensive posture, not attacking anything at the moment.

"Well I agree that we need to neutralize both threats, but I know these ships well. The Imperial-class is the largest threat and needs to be destroyed; however, the Victory-II only has a complement of five thousand crew, and many of those aren't Stormtroopers. I propose we board and disable the Victory-II, then destroy or drive off the Imperial-class. Starfighters should run interference for the escaping Remnant forces, but stay clear of the capital ships and their corvette escort. We can trap the Imperial-class, as they most likely will try and rescue the Victory-II after we board it. That will keep them here long enough for the Republic fleet to arrive and help us destroy it. In the commotion, send your troop transports to help Torr and I secure the ship."

Trayk was following the battle plan and nodding as she evaluated the tactics.

"If you think that you and your apprentice can hold them off long enough for the fleet to arrive, then I won't stop you. Capturing another capital ship would go a long way to ensuring security and dominance in this sector. Very well, Master Jedi, we shall go with your plan."

I spoke up at this point.

"Torak, my acklay, won't fit into my starfighter but I can instruct him to accompany your troops. He's blind, so you can lead him with the sound of your voice. Load him into a transport with your soldiers and he can join me in the Victory-II hangar."

Trayk couldn't help but grin and shake her head at the preposterous image of loading a blind acklay on to a troop transport at the request of a Jedi. Regardless, she consented and dismissed the gathered troops. Kyle and I were sent up towards the hangar, where we were assigned X-Wings. We took off when we received clearance and began our ascent into the atmosphere. There were several Remnant shuttles also rising into the air, but Kyle ordered me to ignore them.

"The others will handle the shuttles. Right now we need to get on board that Star Destroyer."

As we left the planet's atmosphere and entered the void of space, I cleared my mind of all other distractions and instead felt the currents of the Force that flowed here. The Star Destroyers were massive, though the Victory-II class was considerably smaller than the Imperial-class. They were surrounded by a dozen smaller ships, and escorted by many TIE fighters. The CSF had begun to engage the escaping Remnant shuttles and transports closer to the planet, drawing away some of the defenders. Seeing an opening, I took the lead as I could see the bigger picture more easily than my Master could.

We were noticed by some of the TIE fighter wings, who moved to intercept us. With our S-foils locked, we were able to dodge around their fire and make a beeline for the Victory-II's hangar. My deflector shields absorbed a few glancing blows on my wings, and we unlocked our S-foils to dump speed as we entered the hangar. I had just barely touched down when I opened the cockpit and leaped out, lightsaber flashing. I had both blades extended, and deflected blaster fire from Stormtroopers and pilots in the hangar. Kyle had touched down and joined me, and I cleared our path with a fan of lightning, shocking and knocking back the Stormtroopers.

There were dozens of TIE fighters still unlaunched in the hangar bay, some resting on the ground and some hanging from scaffolds above us. Some ships were warming up and preparing for launch, which would pose a significant threat. Pulling out the Sith's lightsaber, I hurled it at the nearest TIE fighter and guided its flight. The blade sliced through the TIE's wings and left a deep gouge across the back of the fighter, igniting its fuel tank and blowing the fighter apart. This led to a chain reaction of the adjacent fighters detonating as well, and we had to run forward to escape the blast.

Charging through the door to the interior of the ship, we began to infiltrate the Star Destroyer. Our objective was the ship's engine to hold the ship in place and bait the Imperial-class into staying long enough for the Republic reinforcements to arrive. The ship itself felt like a city in space, but not nearly as dense as Coruscant. There were Stormtroopers all around us, trying to box us off. An alarm was blaring, and we heard an officer speaking on the ship intercom.

"Attention, all hands. We have a hostile boarding party, possibly Jedi. All available troops, converge on the hangar and stop them."

Kyle looked around, and located a ventilation shaft above us. He gestured towards it.

"Torr, make your way to the engine. These ventilation shafts lead to an air processing center on a lower level. You can bypass most of the patrols and get on the lift down to the control room. Go quickly."

Pulling the hatch above us open, I jumped up, grabbed the ledge and pulled myself into the cramped metal corridor. The shaft was just large enough for me to crawl through, and I closed the grate behind me. I could hear Kyle start to fight below me, causing a distraction to allow me to proceed. As I traveled forward, he began to lead them off in another direction. The shaft began to slope downwards, and eventually dropped sharply into a large fan-driven pit. I could see another intake shaft on the opposite side of the chamber below me, which would be a risky jump.

I went for it, hurling myself across the chamber and catching the ledge below. My grip nearly slipped, which would send me falling into the large spinning fan. Pulling myself into the shaft, I could feel the thrumming of the ship engine getting stronger. Using my Sight, I could tell I was heading in the right direction even if I didn't know the exact layout of the ship. The loud whirring of a lift told me I was close to my exit point. Finding a grate, I carefully opened it and dropped into the hallway below.

There was nobody around, and as I called the lift to me I could feel that I would have company soon. The engine control room was full of mechanics and technicians, as well as several Stormtrooper guards. Stepping into the lift, I began to descend. As I exited the lift, I reached out and used mind tricks on them, making myself not seem like a threat as I approached one of the technicians. The rest of them paid me no mind, like I was supposed to be there.

"You need to shut down and lock the engine. It's overheating and you need to begin the restart procedure."

"I.. Should shut down the engine. It's overheating." he said in a dazed stupor, turning around and beginning the shutdown sequence. As he completed his task, the engine went dark and quiet. The technician swiped his access card to lock the computer.

"You should go sit in the corner and take a nap, and leave your access card on the terminal." I said to him.

"I'm.. Tired. I should go to sleep." He repeated sluggishly. He laid his access card on the terminal and wandered off to pass out. I took the card, which would leave him locked out of the computer, nonchalantly striding back over to the lift, exiting the engine area without having to hurt anybody. I contacted my Master on comlink.

"Kyle, the engines are down. Where should we rendezvous?"

"I've barricaded myself in an armory. I'm going to need your help getting out." he responded, and I could hear the hissing of a plasma torch in the background, meaning they were cutting through the door.

"I'm on my way." I said, directing the lift to take me all the way back up to the level Kyle was on. There were about a hundred Stormtroopers on this level, and about half of them were between myself and the armory. The troopers here on high alert and wouldn't be fooled by my mind tricks like the unsuspecting guards in the engine room. I drew the dark Jedi's single bladed saber in my left and held the E-11 rifle in my right. I advanced down the corridor, using the saber to block incoming shots and shooting the Stormtroopers with the rifle.

It was an interesting change of pace. As I rounded a corner, I was face-to-face with a Stormtrooper who was coming to reinforce his comrades; a quick slash from the saber cut him down, and three shots from the rifle took down his two squadmates. I could feel Kyle fighting ahead, and continued to fight through the halls towards him. When I got sight of him, Kyle was trapped in the armory while a line of Stormtroopers were firing in at him and it was all he could do to parry their attacks.

One of the Stormtroopers had a thermal detonator on their belt, and I activated it using the Force. None of them noticed it had been turned on until it was too late, and the resulting explosion ripped a hole in the floor and walls, blasting in the armory door. The Stormtroopers were consumed in the blaze and thrown aside. I had taken cover around the corner and Kyle was ducking behind some crates when the grenade went off.

Meeting back up with him, Kyle gestured for me to grab several things from the armory and take them out to the hangar. We began to fortify and prepare for Imperial reinforcements. We set up two large stationary blaster turrets, which would punch a hole in a tank. The hangar was still strewn with wreckage from the exploded TIE fighters, which made it easy to place landmines across the ground. I sensed that shuttles had launched from the Imperial-class and were on their way.

They began arriving several minutes later, three Lambda-class shuttles swooping into the hangar. Kyle and I opened fire with the blaster turrets we had set up, forcing them to stay airborne and drop their troops on the mines we had scattered across the hangar floor. A series of explosions ripped apart the first wave of soldiers.

The second wave came soon after, weathering our blaster fire and dropping off a load of troops, who were blasted down under our combined turret fire. It looked like we would be able to hold out, but were forced to abandon our positions when a TIE fighter flew into the hangar and opened fire with its blaster cannons. The fighter ripped apart our turrets and its shots followed me as I tried to get distance. I blocked a few of its the bolts with my saber, but they hit so hard that my lightsaber was nearly torn from my grip.

Kyle attacked it from behind, his lightsaber slicing through the joints that held one of its large octagonal wings to the spherical body. The fighter lost control and slammed into the side of the hangar. Landing the ship quickly, the pilot struggled out of the cockpit with his hands up.

"I surrender! Don't shoot!" He yelled down at us. Kyle motioned for him to come down, and when his boots were on the ground the pilot was handcuffed. There was a lull in the fighting, and I could sense that most of the Remnant forces had pulled back towards the Imperial-class. The evacuation shuttles had either been destroyed or landed on the Star Destroyer, so they would normally begin to evacuate now.

As we hoped, the Imperial-class did not hyperspace out. I sensed more shuttles launch from the larger ship in an attempt to retake our commandeered vessel. Something was off about the incoming ships though..

"Master, we have to get out of here. The next round of shuttles are loaded with explosives! They're going to scuttle this ship!"

"Take the pilot and get to the turbolaser control room. I'm going to run interception."

Kyle returned to his X-Wing and took off, his attacks forcing the shuttles off course and buying us a few minutes to get to the control room for the external turbolasers. My prisoner resisted being moved at first, until I had to remind him of our situation.

"If you don't cooperate, you'll die along with the rest of us. Help me shoot down those shuttles and you'll save the lives of everybody on this ship."

Reluctantly, he stopped struggling and went along with me to the lift. We stepped over dozens of corpses on our way, which made the pilot stiffen up with obvious fear. The reality that I could kill him- easily- at any time was sinking in. We rode the lift up, the pilot running for cover when Stormtroopers began firing on me. My saber out, I knocked their shots aside and pulled their weapons from their hands. Catching one of the rifles, I returned fire and killed the three of them.

I didn't need to manhandle the pilot now, who walked in front of me as we approached the control room. He entered with his hands up, making the guards in the room raise and then lower their rifles. Pushing him aside, I thrust my hands out and pushed everybody in the room down with a powerful surge. With two saber blades out, I held it at an officer's throat and addressed the room.

"There are two _Lambda-class_ shuttles loaded with explosives attempting to destroy this ship. If you want to live, you will stand up and man your station to shoot them down. If you want to die fighting a Jedi, raise your weapon."

I retreated back to the entrance to the room and let them stand one by one. The officer drew his pistol on me and brandished it threateningly.

"Attack!" He ordered, though none of the gunners made a move to shoot at me. He turned to fire on the gunner nearest to him, and I pulled the weapon from his grasp, shooting him twice in the chest. The officer slumped back and I motioned for the gunners to proceed, who immediately began to fire on the _Lambda_ shuttles. They were large and slow enough to hit, and were quickly wiped out, exploding in enormous fireballs.

With the immediate threat removed, the gunners looked at me for direction.

"You've saved the lives of your comrades today. Now proceed to the hangar. You will not be harmed as long as you comply."

They shuffled out with their hands up, the helpful pilot among them. I led them down to the hangar area and gathered them around the damaged TIE fighter, magnetically locking their handcuffs to the fighter and guarding the entrance to the hangar in case more Stormtroopers came down to liberate the prisoners.

My comlink beeped as Kyle contacted me.

"Torr, you've got company! A fighter slipped past me while I was shaking some TIEs. I think it's another dark Jedi!"

As he spoke, a TIE Interceptor gracefully entered the hangar and touched down. A hooded and masked figure emerged from the ship and jumped out, dressed the same as the dark Jedi who had attacked me two months ago, back on my first day on Coruscant. The figure ignited their saber and advanced on me, but before we engaged each other they thrust their hand out and launched a barrage of lightning at the prisoners shackled to the TIE fighter. They began to scream in pain as they were electrocuted. Drawing the spare saber from my belt, I threw it at the dark Jedi who was forced to block it and cease their attack on the prisoners.

I dashed to put myself between my opponent and the prisoners, and pulled the saber I had thrown back to me.

"How sweet," my opponent said, her voice like poisoned honey, "what a brave protector you are. Such a shame that you're wasting the secrets of innumerable Sith Lords on such trivial pursuits. I shall enjoy pulling those lost techniques from your mind before I break you."

She launched at me with incredible speed, slamming into my guard and surprising me with a second lightsaber which slashed at my legs. I extended the other blade of my saberstaff just in time to block it, and shoved the dark Jedi back. Our duel began in earnest, and she was far more energetic an opponent than the previous dark Jedi I had faced. Her aggressive style was always striking me in two places at once, making me use both of my blades to defend.

"Show me!" She screamed at me as we sparred, "Show me the secrets you are selfishly squandering!"

As we fought, I could feel that she was holding back, not going for the killing blows. She was trying to force me to use the dark side knowledge I had acquired in Exar Kun's library. I refused to give her the satisfaction and would exploit her arrogance. Once I had both of her blades locked on mine, I deactivated my saber. Her blades flew towards my face but she stopped just short of killing me, a shocked look on her face. Pivoting slightly, I slipped behind her guard and reactivated my saber. Her head rolled off her shoulders and across the floor.

I stooped to collect her lightsabers- I was building quite the collection. I had to update Kyle as soon as I was safe.

"Kyle, I defeated the dark Jed. I think I know why they've been attacking me, I'll update you when we're done here."

"Alright, hold tight. Reinforcements are almost here and the Star Destroyer still hasn't jumped to hyperspace. They might start shooting at you, so be ready to bail."

The prisoners I had shackled to the TIE were mostly unconscious now. The lightning attack had severely wounded them, and I knew they would need medical attention. More Stormtroopers were breaking into the hangar, firing on me as I moved to defend myself again. A Stormtrooper primed a grenade and prepared to throw it, but I used the Force to keep it attached to his hand. He panicked briefly, then the explosive went off. His squadmates had fled in time to avoid being consumed by the blast, but they were scattered.

I levitated the corpse of the decapitated dark Jedi in front of me as a shield.

"I killed a dark Jedi, do you think I would have trouble killing any of you? Lay down your weapons and come out here with your hands up."

There was some pained groaning from the hallway, and the Stormtroopers who survived came limping out with their hands raised. I threw the body aside as they went to join the other prisoners by the TIE fighter. I went to go check the blast zone and dragged out some wounded Troopers who weren't able to move on their own. I pulled their destroyed armor off and healed their wounds with some bacta patches and Force energy.

The fleet was taking too long to arrive, and Kyle knew that as well. He contacted me with more instructions

"Torr, the Star Destroyer is going to abort its recapture attempts soon since we keep shooting down their shuttles. You need to reach the bridge and activate the tractor beam to hold it here long enough for the fleet to arrive in force!"

Seeing to the last of the prisoners' wounds, I left them to travel to the bridge. Holding my saber defensively, I encountered a few groups of Stormtroopers but they dropped their weapons and fled. I decided not to hunt them down, as speed was more important than killing. Taking the lift up to the bridge, I found the entry door sealed. My lightsaber cut it open, and I was immediately barraged with blaster fire. The garrison had been recalled to the bridge, and there were two dozen troopers stationed there to defend it. Retreating back into the lift, I detached one of my lightsabers and threw it into the bridge. Reaching my hand around, I fired lightning from my hand and into my lightsaber, using it to split the lightning across the first line of troopers, stunning them and knocking them back.

Using the Force to speed my moments, I drew the dark Jedi's saber and charged into their lines. I sent my levitating lightsaber on its own path of carnage, tearing into the Troopers' back line while I slammed into their front. My two sabers were whirling and slashing a path of destruction, and as the Stormtroopers attempted to pull back from me to get a better firing position, I sent out a wave of the Force to knock them down.

Within a minute of my charge, the Stormtroopers laid dead and the bridge officers were backed into the wall, cowering in terror. I advanced on them, covered in gore from the slain Troopers, one silver blade and one red blade. The captain attempted to shoot his pistol at me, but I easily blocked the shot and stretched my hand out towards him, gripping his neck with the Force and lifting him off the ground.

I turned to one of the bridge officers and started issuing commands.

"If you want to leave this bridge alive, do as I say. Lock a tractor beam on the Star Destroyer.."

The bridge officers looked between me and the captain, whose movements were getting slower as he choked to death. Keeping his head down, the officer scurried to a console and locked on to the Star Destroyer with a tractor beam. After a few moments, the Star Destroyer began to fire on us. Though our shields were holding, they wouldn't last long against the full power of the Star Destroyer.

Dropping the captain, he crumpled into an unconscious heap. He would live. In the meantime, I ordered the captains to push as much power into the shields as possible to hold out. Our reinforcements were moments from arriving, according to Kyle.

I sensed the Republic fleet arrive. There was a sudden jolt as they exited hyperspace and began firing on the Star Destroyer. Wings of fighters and bombers deployed to strike the capital ship as well. Their fire on us was disrupted, giving us some room to breathe. Two capital ships had emerged to flank the Imperial-class, and were quickly tearing through it. With nothing left to do on our end, I gathered the officers up and began to take them back to the hangar.

"Torr, get back to the hangar and get off the ship. Our job here is finished."

"On my way, Kyle. I've got a hefty collection of prisoners with me."

"The Republic will pick them up later. Just get clear."

Once the officers were locked to the TIE fighter, I returned to my X-wing. My body was cooling down, soreness and fatigue setting into my limbs after a prolonged conflict. I channeled positive thoughts and energy through my body, which helped but didn't remove the need for rest, and more importantly, food.

Taking off, I flew out of the Victory-II's hangar and joined Kyle in space. The fight was wrapping up at this point, with most of the TIEs destroyed and the Star Destroyer on its final ropes. Fire streamed out of the ship as it was ripped apart by the two Republic ships. The death knell was a barrage of torpedoes into a breached section of the ship's armor. The Star Destroyer's rear half blew apart, hurling the front half forward like a meteor. The battle was won.

Kyle and I took a final patrol around the battlezone while we watched several shuttles fly into the Victory-II, carrying troops to finish securing the ship. We tuned into their comlink frequency to get a live update of the boarding operation.

"Exiting the hangar now. Deploy the acklay. A damaged TIE fighter is on the far side of the hangar, along with approximately twenty prisoners handcuffed to the wing. Gold One and Two, stand guard and make sure they don't escape."

"Entering the bridge. The captain is unconscious and the bridge controls are unlocked."

"Engine room secured. Silver Seven took a blaster hit to the leg but he should live."

"Those Jedi cleaned shop. Light resistance throughout the ship but according to internal sensors, we have control."

"Master Jedi, please return to my office." Commander Trayk said. We descended back into the atmosphere of the planet and flew to the CSF headquarters. As we were once again led to Trayk, the atmosphere in the building was now absolutely joyous. Everybody was excited, and it created a vibrancy all around us, like the world was humming and vibrating with energy. People passing by would pat us on the shoulder as we passed, and Trayk greeted us with a warm handshake and a brilliant smile.

"Master Jedi, you two have done more for us in a few months than we were able to do on our own in the past year. We can use the Victory-II as an atmospheric assault ship to extend our reach across the planet. With most of the Remnant having evacuated, it's just criminal gangs to contend with now and they are far less organized."

The Twi'lek produced two datapads and handed them to us.

"These are for you. Gifts from the Coruscant Security Force. Suffice to say, we won't be requiring your bounty hunting services for quite some time, but we have included references to others who might."

Kyle and I nodded to the Commander and departed the CSF building, leaving their jubilant cheers behind. As we returned to the shuttle, I saw Torak waiting inside of the ship for me, eagerly awaiting my return. During our walk, I spoke with Kyle about the dark Jedi.

"I learned more about the dark Jedi that have been attacking me. Apparently they're after the secrets I learned from the Sith Masters on Yavin IV. They somehow know that I used the Sith holocrons, and even if I can't consciously activate most of their teachings, they seem to think they can pry them from my mind."

"That's bad news… Sith cults are no joke." Kyle said. "We'll come up with a plan to end their threat soon, I promise.

As we returned to our apartment, Kyle told me to be wary.

"Until this business with the assassins is over, don't consider yourself safe." He said.

"Master, fear and paranoia are what turned me to the dark side. I don't know if I can handle this." I said, worry spreading through me and awakening an all too familiar darkness. Kyle laid a hand on my shoulder.

"It's going to be alright, Torr, stay strong. You are going to make it through this."

Taking a steadying breath, I nodded. I had to fight through my fear to come up with a plan that didn't involve giving into my fear. Facing it, showing courage would be the only way for me to succeed without succumbing to darkness. Taking a circuit of the apartment, we closed all of the windows and set alarms on all of the entrances. These precautions wouldn't keep out a dedicated and talented assassin, but it did give us some peace of mind.

Sitting down to plan, Kyle and I opened our 'gifts' from the CSF. Two large crates had been loaded on the shuttle, containing extremely powerful weapons. Rocket launchers, concussion rifles, and a credit payout of 10,000 credits each. Kyle let out a long whistle.

"This is a fantastic gift. Never underestimate the utility of heavy firepower."

After our new weapons were secured in our armory, Kyle and I began to work out a plan to reveal and destroy the group who was so determined to get my head. First we would need to draw them out so we knew who we were dealing with. Then would come the killing blow.


End file.
